Hit-and-Run Driver Who Put Las Vegas Bus Driver in Coma Leaves HUGE Clue at Crime Scene

Erika Bruce was driving home late one night last week from Barstow, Calif. when another vehicle plowed into hers. The collision forced her off the road and into a ditch. Now she lay in a coma in the hospital, where doctors are unsure she will survive. Though the perpetrator left the scene of the crime, California Highway Patrol say they have a person of interest in custody and are expected to announce an indictment soon. That’s because of some uniquely damning evidence left at the scene…

The license plate of the vehicle that hit Erika Bruce was perfectly imprinted on the back of her vehicle. (Image: Chappell Johnson via KLAS-TV)

The perp’s vehicle struck the back of Bruce’s with such force, its license plate actually left a reverse imprint on the vehicle’s rear end: 66552N3. (The state is not legible.)

The van belonged to Bruce’s employer, the charter bus company Arrow Stage Lines, which offers luxury buses to Vegas from seven US cities. Bruce was driving it home on Interstate 15 just before 2 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 5 when she was struck about 15 miles outside Primm, Nev.

In eerie dash-cam footage provided to KLAS-TV, Bruce is shown observing the headlights of the vehicle about to drastically alter, and possibly end, her life. (Image: Chappell Johnson via KLAS-TV)

“She worked hard her whole life,” Bruce’s daughter, Tyana Samuel, told KLAS-TV/Las Vegas. “I’d never see my mom unemployed. Bus driving is something that she loved doing.”

Though critically injured, Bruce was somehow able to dial 911 from the ditch. An ambulance rushed her to University Hospital in Las Vegas, according to KLAS, where she was placed on life support.

Now, Samuel told the news station, “the chances of her waking up are slim to none.”

A search for Bruce’s name under Arrow Stage Lines’ Yelp page turned up the following 2024 review from Debbie W. of Liberty Mo. …

“We felt very safe with Erika. She is professional and friendly. When we drove through Zion National Park three times, we had several curvy roads. Erika handled those curves with ease. We enjoyed our trip very much, and having a bus driver who was concerned about us and our safety was amazing.

“Thank you, Erika.”

Corey Levitan joined Casino.org in 2022 after a long career covering Las Vegas. He currently covers entertainment, dining and gaming news in Las Vegas.

Corey spent six years covering the Vegas Strip for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, where he also wrote the most popular humor column in the city’s history. (For “Fear and Loafing,” he tried out 176 Vegas jobs, including poker player, blackjack dealer and Follie Bergere dancer.)

Corey has won more than 100 local, state and national awards for his journalism, which has also appeared in Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and the New York Post.

Corey is a New York native whose hobbies include playing guitar, trying to be a better husband, and arguing with strangers on Facebook.

Contact Corey at corey@casino.org.

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