Crash injures Primm workers

Bus driver John Petrayskas was making the usual drive on his usual route Thursday afternoon when something unusual happened.

It started with a vibration, and before Petrayskas knew it, the bus carrying 30 Primm Valley hotel workers was on its side and on fire.

"That bus burnt faster than you could even believe," the 35-year bus driving veteran said. "It had a full tank of gas."

About two dozen people, including Petrayskas, were injured in the 2:15 p.m. crash on Interstate 15 about seven miles north of Primm, though investigators believed none of the injuries was life-threatening, Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Kevin Honea said.

"We're guardedly optimistic that we dodged a bullet here," Honea said. "It could have been significantly worse."

Investigators hadn't ruled out any possible causes for the crash, which tied up southbound traffic for hours. The bus was headed south to Primm when it drifted off the pavement, hit a metal guardrail and slid along a concrete barrier wall before tipping over in the desert more than 600 feet from the initial impact, Honea said.

The crash ruptured the fuel tanks, and flames quickly engulfed the bus, he said.

Petrayskas said he tried to pull the bus over after feeling the vibration. He struggled to keep control of the bus as it drifted to the right, and he gradually brought the bus to a stop after crossing a small bridge over a gully, he said.

For a few seconds, everything was fine.

"And then, like in slow motion, it rolled over to its side," he said.

Petrayskas saw people and things fly everywhere and found himself hanging nearly upside down from his seat belt.

"There was a lot of excitement," he said. "But I just wanted to get everyone out."

Truckers and other motorists stopped along the freeway to help. Passers-by crawled through the opening left by the kicked-out windshield and helped the bus passengers to safety.

Most people got out of the bus before the fire started.

Someone with a knife helped cut Petrayskas free, and the driver was pulled from the bus, but not before he suffered second- and third-degree burns on his legs. He also lost a boot.

Seven crash victims were taken to University Medical Center, including three who were airlifted by helicopter from the crash scene. None was listed in critical condition. Six others were taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center and were listed in good condition.

The rest of the injured were taken to other hospitals in the valley.

One of the crash victims at UMC was Jesus Moreno, 38, from Las Vegas, said his cousin Efraim Blanco, who was awaiting the results of a CT scan on Moreno's leg. "They told us he's doing all right," Blanco said with relief.

Petrayskas, on his way home Thursday evening after being treated at UMC, suspected the front right tire must have been flat or shredded, which triggered the crash. Honea said it probably would take several days for investigators to determine a cause.

"We're not ruling anything out," he said.

Primm is home to three hotels, Primm Valley, Buffalo Bill's and Whiskey Pete's, which are owned by Herbst Gaming. Company officials did not return calls for comment.

I-15 has been the site of several bus crashes in recent years.

In March 1999, a tour bus carrying 37 fifth-graders from Henderson rammed into a tractor-trailer south of the California-Nevada line and descended a 40-foot embankment. The crash killed the 80-year-old bus driver and injured about 30 children, who were returning from a field trip to Sea World in San Diego.

Two years later, a Greyhound bus ran off the highway and flipped down an embankment in Glendale, about 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas, after the driver fell asleep behind the wheel. The July 2001 crash injured 37 people.

In September 2004, a bus carrying tourists bound for Las Vegas rolled off I-15 on Mountain Pass south of Primm. Ten of the 19 people on the bus were thrown from the vehicle, but no one was killed. Authorities blamed the crash on driver error.

Contact reporter Scott Spjut at sspjut @reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0279.