For Rogelio Vidal, life changed forever during his morning commute to a job site on May 15.
Vidal, 54, was driving his pickup truck just after 6 a.m. on a ramp connecting Interstate 11 with Interstate 15, part of the Spaghetti Bowl near downtown Las Vegas, when his truck was hit by a Toyota Scion driven by a suspected DUI driver.
“I felt the hit from the back,” the Spanish-speaking Vidal said, as his son Rogelio Vidal Jr., interpreted for him during an interview at his Las Vegas home Friday. “After the impact, I kind fainted or something.”
When he realized his truck had flipped over, he said, he took off his seat belt with his right hand and saw how badly his left hand was injured. He screamed and didn’t remember much else until he was in a local hospital.
Doctors decided to amputate the hand, he said. A commercial painter for Oasis Painting in Las Vegas, Vidal said he is now faced with an uncertain work future, mounting medical bills and emotional and physical pain.
Suspected DUI crash
According to Las Vegas Justice Court records, Aaron Nelson Hall was charged May 19 with two felonies — DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm and reckless driving — along with two traffic-related misdemeanors in connection with the crash.
After his arrest, Hall posted his $75,000 bail, according to court records. He entered a plea of not guilty May 19 and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing July 2.
“I don’t feel anger toward the other guy because only God knows why he does things,” Vidal said. “This is what God had planned.”
Vidal said he has tried to stay positive through the ordeal. For now, there’s just a bandaged stub where his left hand was, though Vidal said he hopes to get a prosthetic hand at some point.
He said he’s still on pain medications and that he has been bored since he came home from the hospital. He’s not the type to sit around, he said. He’d much rather be out working to provide for his family, which includes his wife, Antonia Vega, and three children.
Rogelio Vidal Jr., 28, recently set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money to cover medical bills and other expenses. As of Friday evening, the page had raised about $2,000.
The Vidal family is working with an attorney as it considers taking legal action.
“I want the other driver to pay my damages, all the costs and everything that’s happened to me, both psychologically and physically,” Vidal said. “I don’t understand how he has been able to pay for bail and already be out of jail.”
A process
Thankfully, Vidal’s right hand is his dominant hand, but he knows he’ll have to get used to painting with only one hand. He said his boss at Oasis has been supportive following the crash and that he hopes to get back to work soon, though it might be a few months.
“I want to continue to work as a painter, but I know I won’t be able to do it like I used to,” Vidal said. “God-willing, I’ll be able to. I know it will be a process.”
Rogelio Vidal Jr. said it’s been difficult to see his father’s life change.
“It’s been devastating,” he said. “My dad is a good person. He’s hard-working and he’s always cautious. You don’t expect something like this to happen to someone like that. It’s been difficult to see him like this. I just try to keep it positive and try to make sure he’s not down. The first week, we were all down.”
A Las Vegas resident for over 20 years, the elder Vidal said he has a message for driver’s on valley roadways.
“Be careful on the roads because you never know when something’s going to happen,” he said through his son. “Be mindful of other drivers. It’s a thin line — something can happen to you. Right now, everybody’s driving like crazy.”
On Sunday, the a car wash fundraiser will take place at the Cheyenne Sports Complex in North Las Vegas, the family said. It’s set to begin at 8:30 a.m. Food will also be available for purchase.
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.
