Charlie Lastowsky, left, and Katrine Sinclair, right, received a visit from a therapy dog and handler while being treated at University Medical Centre in Las Vegas. (Photo: gofundme.com)

By Teena Monteleone

massive medical bills

P.A. paramedics struck by car in Vegas face long recovery and mounting U.S. medical bills

Apr 30, 2025 | 11:40 AM

The mother of a Prince Albert paramedic, one of two struck by a vehicle in Las Vegas, is happy to have her daughter recovering back in Saskatchewan, but the pressure of American medical bills is mounting.

Katrine Sinclair and Charlie Lastowsky were celebrating Katrine’s 21^st birthday with another friend when they were struck by a car at a crosswalk in Vegas on April 18. Both sustained severe injuries. Katrine ended up with a fractured pelvis in three places, a broken right humerus, vertebrae fractures and a tibia plateau fracture among other injuries. By April 22, Roberta said the medical bills were US$144,045 which is close to about CA$200,000

“However, the girls were flown out April 24 and 25, so the final bill is unknown. The air ambulance was US$43,500. The Canadian wire transfer was $61,733.95,” Roberta told paNOW.

A GoFundMe page for Katrine and Charlie was set up after the accident and Roberta said family and friends are looking to hold other fundraisers to help with the growing expenses and long term recovery both girls will face. She’s also hopeful Katrine may have some insurance coverage through her SGI package policy, which covers pedestrians.

“I just want this to be a lesson. I want people to learn from it. Life is really unpredictable,” Roberta said. “You have to protect yourself when you’re planning a trip. It’s only a minimal extra cost on your trip. Get that insurance. Write down information where you will be and contact information for who is with you because that was another struggle for us. If something happens, it makes it easier when your support people can contact the resources you need to deal with emergencies.”

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Sinclair and Lastowsky were celebrating Sinclair’s 21st birthday in Las Vegas when the accident happened. (Photo: gofundme.com)

Roberta said the accident is still under investigation by Las Vegas police, and there is not yet word on whether any charges are pending. Her focus remains on the girls’ recovery and on the positives of no head injuries or nerve damage with vertebrae.

“Katrine was sitting up the other day. Charlie is actually walking a little bit, so it’s a long road to recovery, but they’re doing great.”

Roberta thanked the GoFundMe donors and others in the community for the outpouring of support – something she said is great about being a part of a smaller community. She was able to use a line of credit to pay part of the first set of bills from the US. While waiting for the final amount is adding to an already stressful situation, she’s just happy to have the girls back home.

“My hand was shaking [when I wrote that first cheque] but let me tell you, it was priceless to write a cheque knowing you were going to be able to bring your daughter back to Canada where she will be healing.”

By Wednesday morning, the GoFundMe for Katrine and Charlie had reached almost $90,000.

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teena.monteleone@pattisonmedia.com