Gardnerville woman's car flips off bridge into drink

GARDNERVILLE - Joe Scoggin of Fallon was driving south on Highway 88 about 12:15 p.m. Monday when the car in front of him disappeared.

"I looked up and saw pieces up in the air and saw dust , and the car was gone," he said.

The white sedan, driven by Gardnerville resident Jerri Bolinger, went through chicken-wire fence before going over the Carson River bridge embankment to the riverbank below.

The sedan flipped onto its top, coming to rest near the base of the bridge. The drop from the embankment was about 10 feet.

Scoggin turned his vehicle around and called 911. He walked down the embankment, just south of the intersection of State Route 88 and Kimmerling Road, and saw a woman inside the vehicle.

She gave him her husband's phone number, he said, and asked him to call.

"She was talking pretty plain and didn't seem really hurt," he said.

Scoggin remained at the scene, watching as East Fork Fire and Paramedic Districts personnel removed Bolinger from the driver's side of the vehicle about 1:10 p.m.

Strapped to a backboard, Bolinger was carried to a Care-Flight helicopter in a field on the other side of the road.

"Her vital signs are good," said Chief Tod Carlini.

Washoe Medical Center personnel in Reno said Monday afternoon they were still evaluating Bolinger's condition. No one was in the vehicle with Bolinger.

Family members of Bolinger were at the scene of the incident. "We really thank all of the emergency people involved," said one woman. "They did an outstanding job of making sure we were informed."

By 1:35 p.m., a tow truck arrived on State Route 88 and traffic was cleared.

The Nevada Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause of the accident.

Contact Maggie O'Neill at mo'neill@recordcourier.com or (775) 782-5121, ext. 214.