Woman Shot In Las Vegas Massacre Dies Of Her Injuries 2 Years Later
Nov. 19 2019, Updated 4:01 p.m. ET
A woman who was shot during the October 2017 Las Vegas massacre has died fo her injuries, two years later.
Kim Gervais, who was left a quadriplegic after the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival shooting, passed away on Friday, November 15. Her sister confirmed the news to Fox 5, saying “She’ll never leave my heart, ever.”
Gervais’s sibling, Dena Sarvela, also explained that ever since the massacre — during which Stephen Paddock shot bullets into a crowd of 22,000 concertgoers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort and casino — Gervais “lost her zest for life.” And this week, her heart stopped due to the severe of her injuries.
“She hurt. Even though she was paralyzed from the neck up, she could feel all the pain,” Sarvela said. “There was scrap metal still in her because he used exploding bullets.”
Gervais attended the country music festival with two of her girlfriends, Dana Smith and Pati Mestas. After the shooting, Smith miraculously walked out unscathed, while Mestas died at the scene. Now, Gervais’ death brings the number of lives lost from the shooting to 59.
The family will hold two memorial services for Gervais, one where they grew up together in Kansas City, and another at Gervais’s Los Angeles home, where she spent her final years.
Sarvela and her brother plan to take their late sibling’s ashes on a road trip across the United States to honor her memory, as the trip is one they used to take together as kids.