Las Vegas Weekly

Rikki’s Day

A benefit for hit-and-run victim and Penthouse bartender Rikki Lambert

Rikki Lambert and her boyfriend were the victims of a hit and run accident at Penthouse Club that has left them with serious injuries and sky high medical bills.

When we think of vehicle-pedestrian accidents, it’s all too easy for us to picture them occurring in the dead of night or the wee hours before dawn, when tippled souls topple out of drinking establishments and get behind the wheel, often to tragic ends. But in the broad Vegas daylight a few weeks back, Penthouse Club bartender Rikki Lambert, 28, and her boyfriend Jeffrey Melloway, 30, were leaving at 10 a.m. to grab a bite after Lambert’s shift at the popular afterhours spot.

 It was there, in the parking lot, that the two were mowed down by a driver in reverse, sending Melloway aloft, with Lambert reportedly passing beneath the 2007 Dodge crew cab pickup truck, which quickly escaped. Lambert’s friend Krissy Moran and Penthouse’s Gino LoPinto were among the first to arrive on the scene before help arrived.

 According to the Las Vegas Sun, the driver of the truck—intriguingly enough, with Nevada plates LVPD3—is believed to be 28-year-old Mirsha Rafael Gomez-Barajas of Las Vegas, who was found and arrested the next night, charged with one count of felony hit and run. A search for the vehicle is still underway.

While Melloway sustained broken ribs and a punctured lung, Lambert was left in critical condition, with extensive injuries including a ruptured spleen (which had to be removed), internal bleeding, a broken collarbone, a broken femur, a broken arm and broken ribs, amounting to over $100,000 in associated medical costs. Sadly, Lambert, who is currently recuperating in Washington state under the care of her family, does not have medical insurance.

But Penthouse is not standing by to watch one of its own drown in debt. Reps for the club have announced that Sunday, May 3, is Rikki’s day. From 3 p.m. to midnight, Penthouse Club will present an all-out benefit, with nine bands performing inside and a carnival midway setup outside complete with games, a barbecue, inflatable bouncy houses for children and more. Donations will be collected, and 100 percent of the proceeds (after costs) will help offset Lambert’s associated medical debts.

Anyone interested in donating time, money or equipment should contact Penthouse’s Adam Gould at 883-8847 or adam@vegasalliance.com.