Financial support is pouring in online for two Saskatchewan women who were struck by a car in Las Vegas.
Katrine Sinclair and Charlie Lastowsky, both paramedics from Prince Albert, had travelled to Las Vegas on April 17 to celebrate Sinclair’s 21st birthday and their recent graduation from paramedic school.
The pair was walking through the city when they were hit by a vehicle while on a crosswalk, according to Sinclair’s mother, Roberta Sinclair.
“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare when you get a phone call about your child being involved in an accident,” Roberta said.
Roberta said she received the news at 2:30 a.m. on April 19 that her daughter and Lastowksy had been seriously injured and were being taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas.
“Katrine suffered a fractured pelvis in three places, a broken rib, a broken humerus, and later we learned she also had fractures in her L3 and L5 vertebrae,” Roberta said.
She caught a direct flight from Saskatoon to Las Vegas on Sunday.
“They were — and still are — in a lot of pain,” she said, adding the best friends are sharing a hospital room.
Shaylynn Naytowhow, who grew up close with Sinclair’s family, members of the Métis Nation, launched a GoFundMe campaign that’s now circulating online to pay the medical bills.
“I was very shocked because it’s just like my whole entire adolescent years of watching [Katrine Sinclair] grow up, it just like flashed through my eyes and I was, like, devastated and shocked,” said Naytowhow.
She wanted to include Lastowsky in the fundraiser, despite not knowing her.
“I don’t know Charlie personally, I never had the chance to meet her,” she said. “But I felt that sense of inclusiveness. They went through paramedic school together, they’re friends, and they got into this horrible accident together.”
The campaign, which had raised more than $66,000 as of Tuesday night, said the girls were “far from home, without access to Canadian healthcare, and—most urgently—without health insurance to cover the overwhelming medical expenses.”
CBC was unable to reach the Lastowsky family. The GoFundMe page said both young women suffered “severe life altering injuries.”
Saskatchewan residents injured in a motor vehicle collision, even as pedestrians, typically qualify for Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) no-fault coverage anywhere in Canada or the United States. Roberta said she was speaking to SGI about coverage.
Meanwhile, the GoFundMe said Lastowsky had partial insurance, and Katrine’s coverage stopped on her 21st birthday, hours before the accident in Las Vegas.
Roberta estimates the medical bills are roughly $200,000 and a medical evacuation could cost around $40,000. She said her daughter is moved by the community support.
“My health insurance expired on her,” said Roberta. “And being a young girl, she did not purchase extra medical insurance for the trip.”
She added that while her daughter is careful and responsible, she never imagined something like this could happen.
“It’s a big life lesson,” said Roberta. “And it’s one I hope others can learn from, you have to plan for life’s unexpected moments.”
Now, the focus is on getting the two women home.
Roberta says the families are working to arrange a medevac flight, with hopes of returning to Saskatchewan later this week.
“We’re aiming for Thursday,” she said. “But the biggest hurdle is organizing the air ambulance. A surgeon in Las Vegas needs to connect with a surgeon at the [Royal] University Hospital in Saskatoon.”
Roberta said they want the two women to travel together on the same plane.
Lyle Karasuik is the spokesperson for Parkland Ambulance, Sinclair and Lastowsky’s employer.
“Our team will be there for them no matter what [their] needs are now and into the future, because that’s what our family does,” said Karasuik. “We wish them nothing but good health and want to have them back home as soon as we can.”
Some of the largest donations have come from the Dutchak family, which owns Parkland Ambulance, and their other employees.
Since the incident, Roberta has not received a police report or further details regarding the accident.
“We’re trying to move forward by requesting the accident report. I filed an online request to have it released,” she said.
She’s been in contact with the records branch of the Las Vegas police department, but so far, she’s only been told the report is not yet available.
“The hardest part is being stuck, just waiting for answers,” she said.
