Nurse recalls 'eerie' silence at site of deadly tour van crash

MURRAY — Amid the wreckage scattered in the freeway median, no crying or wailing broke the silence.

Because of that "eerie" silence, Utah nurse Kristi Christensen didn't realize 15 people lay injured or dead when she arrived at the scene of the deadly tour van crash on I-15 near Cedar City.

But after seeing bodies scattered in the grass, Christensen said she went into "nurse mode."

"My first thought was 'What do I do now?' " she said as she recalled the experience Wednesday.

Eight months pregnant, Christensen was returning to Draper with her husband and two small children following a family vacation in Los Angeles, when they came upon the accident scene just minutes after it occurred Monday evening about four miles north of Cedar City.

Most of the 15 people in the van had been ejected when it rolled, while three people remained trapped in the vehicle, she said.

The only person walking around was the 26-year-old driver, who seemed to be in shock.

Christensen said she found one woman who barely had a pulse and began to perform CPR, but "it became very clear that her injuries were beyond my saving."

After that woman died, Christensen said she helped emergency crews and other onlookers load people into ambulances.

"The patients were all very brave and patient," she said.

Christensen and her husband spent about an hour at the scene, waiting until all the victims had been taken away.

Even for her, a registered nurse, the experience was "traumatic."

"It's a tragedy that makes me think I can't take life for granted," she said.

The crash killed three of the Japanese tourists on board, and sent 12 others to the hospital. Eight victims remained hospitalized across the state on Wednesday.

Two people were released Wednesday from Valley View Medical Center in Cedar City while Hideo Hayase, 52, was still there in good condition, said hospital spokesman Scott Monroe.

Four people were in critical condition at Intermountain Medical Center, and a 14-year-old girl was in serious condition at Primary Children's Medical Center. Two women, both 27, are being treated at University Hospital, but information on their condition is not being released.