Medical student reunites with Raiders fan she helped save

By Kim Passoth

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    LAS VEGAS (KVVU) — It was a first date at a Las Vegas Raiders game one fan will never forget. While she on her way to Allegiant Stadium, just a few blocks away, she stopped to save a man’s life.

On Aug. 14, Liz Groesbeck, a third-year medical student at UNLV, was in an Uber on the way to the Raiders first preseason game versus the Seattle Seahawks.

As crowds of people were walking to the game, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said an SUV hit two people on the sidewalk before smashing into a pole at the intersection of Valley View Boulevard and Russell Road.

Police reported the driver, 32-year-old Ashleigh Bacon, reportedly high on drugs got out and ran, jumping a barbed wire fence trying to get away.

“I look over and I see a man on the ground,” Groesbeck said. She got out of the vehicle and ran to the man’s aid. “I saw why people were screaming. His entire arm was severed.”

Using someone’s belt, Groesbeck said she was able to create a tourniquet and control the bleeding.

“With the group around, I asked if anybody had a cloth or shirt or something. Several people handed me the shirts off their back, and I used a Raiders jersey to clear the blood from his mouth,” Groesbeck said.

An ambulance arrived and rushed the victim to the hospital where he had surgery and survived, and Groesbeck went on with her date.

That first date was their last, but Groesbeck said she has no regrets. The trauma may have killed the romance, but Groesbeck undoubtedly played a major role saving a stranger’s life.

“I feel like Las Vegas in general does a pretty good job of that. We are not one of those huge metropolitan cities where we are stepping over people on the sidewalk who need help, we as a city do a great job of looking out for people,” Groesbeck said.

For Andres Caja, angels do exist and they were watching over him following the crash.

“I want to tell everybody angels exist, and there’s one over here. That’s my angel… Thank you very much,” Andres Caja said, the man who lost his arm, when he reunited with Groesbeck.

Caja said he plans to take Groesbeck to a future Raiders game with his wife Suzanna who was also injured in the accident.

The couple is raising money for medical expenses and a prosthetic arm.

To donate, visit the couple’s gofundme account.

Bacon is facing a long list of charges including failure to stop, DUI, reckless driving and remains in jail. Her next court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5.

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