Rollover sends 5 to emergency room

On Friday, August 1, a rollover accident occurred one mile west of Kimball just past exit 20 on I-80.

At approximately 9:30 a.m., a 2002 Ford Explorer going westbound on I-80 had a tire blow out. This caused the driver of the vehicle, Stephanie Hernandez, 15, to lose control of the vehicle, which ended up going off to the right side of the road and rolling.

Emergency personnel arrived on the scene where the rolled vehicle was sitting upright. The three back seat passengers, Daniel Montes-Lopez, Beatrice Ocejo and John Sarlo, were not restrained in the car. The two passengers in the front of the car, Hernandez and Leonides Blanco-Burla, were indicated to have restraints in use at the time of the accident. Montes-Lopez, Hernandez and Sarlo were taken to Kimball Health Services for treatment while Ocejo and Burla, who had both been positioned on the passegnger side of the vehicle and had to be physically removed by responders on the scene, were taken via Air Link to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff.

Burla, 54, had severe back and chest pains. Ocejo, 52, had blood pressure of 209 over 109. She also suffered from chest, back, and neck pain. Blood was also coming out of her right ear. However, she had no other visible lacerations.

Neither Burla or Ocejo spoke English, leaving EMS in need of a translator. Of the two, Burla was considered in a more critical condition at the scene.

As of August 5, Burla was listed as being in fair condition at Regional West Medical Center. Ocejo was no longer a patient at Regional West as of August 5.

Hernandez did not have a license or a learner's permit, leading Burla to be charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle for allowing an unlicensed minor to drive the vehicle.

According to a report released by State Patrol Troop E, all of the passengers involved in the accident are residents of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin.

No further information was available at the time of press.