NHP names Gardnerville man killed in accident
Eugene Aragon-Montoya, a 39-year-old Gardnerville resident and former general manager of Sharkey's Casino, died Thursday when the Harley-Davidson motorcycle he was riding collided with a pickup in Carson City.
Nevada Highway Patrol released Aragon-Montoya's name Saturday after notifying his relatives.
Dale Hoover, 54, of Dayton, who was driving a GMC pickup was uninjured when he allegedly backed out onto Highway 50 into the path of the motorcycle. Neither speed nor alcohol is considered a factor in the accident. Any charges to be filed in the accident will be up to the Carson City District Attorney's Office, the NHP said Saturday.
"It is a tragic loss," said Bernie Curtis, of the Holder Hospitality Group, which owns Sharkey's. "The community is going to miss him. He was very much involved in local issues and was very supportive of both the Carson Valley Museum and the downtown businesses in Gardnerville.
"He was an interesting man and he'll be missed by the patrons and employees of Sharkey's and Holder Hospitality."
Curtis said he and Aragon had been friends since Aragon worked for KGVM, Carson Valley's first radio station, in the 1980s.
When Aragon became general manager at Sharkey's almost two years ago, he arrived with the reputation in the gaming community of a fixer, someone who comes in to clean up difficult situations, Curtis said.
He left Sharkey's in late 2003.
- Staff and News Service report