BLM range specialist found dead in Churchill County

A Carson City Bureau of Land Management range management specialist died of a massive heart attack Monday while conducting field work in Churchill County.

Rich Benson, 51, is survived by his 16-year-old daughter Stephanie Benson; mother Dorothy Benson; sister-in-law Linda Prestilla, brother and sister-in-law John and Nancy Benson and brother-in-law John Peterson.

He was a 1976 graduate of Texas Tech University and worked as a range management specialist for 18 years. Benson started working for the BLM in 1980 at the Winnemucca field office.

"He was a really sweet guy and I really feel for his family," said BLM spokesman Mark Struble. "His wife, (Gail), passed away about two years ago. Everybody is devastated about losing him."

A Churchill County deputy sheriff found Benson dead inside his BLM vehicle parked along Highway 50. Funeral services are 10 a.m. Thursday at the Carson City Presbyterian Church.

Woman critically injured in rollover, granddaughter safe

A Silver Springs woman was critically injured Tuesday morning in a rollover near Wadsworth. Her 2-year-old granddaughter came away from the accident with only a scratched finger.

The Nevada Highway Patrol reported that Lynn Marie Goicoechea, 54, was driving her red 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser westbound on Interstate 80 when she drifted into the center median. She overcorrected to the right and lost control of her car. The car rolled several times in the westbound lanes, ejecting her, and then coming to a stop on its side near the right shoulder. The NHP received the call at 10:53 a.m.

Her granddaughter was in a child-restraint seat, and taken by ambulance to Washoe Medical Center in Reno. Goicoechea, who was not wearing a seat belt, was taken by Care Flight to the same hospital. Her first cousin is Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea, R-Eureka.

Trooper Chuck Allen said Goicoechea is in critical-but-stable condition.

Cyclist struck by car on Carson Street

A Carson City man was taken to Carson-Tahoe Hospital on Tuesday afternoon with a head injury after he was hit by a car while riding his bike south on North Carson Street.

Robert Nagel was traveling south on the sidewalk in front of Grocery Outlet at about 2:30 p.m. when he was struck by a white Honda Civic exiting the store's driveway, said a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper.

Morgan Beam, 18, the driver, did not see him while she was looking to make the turn onto North Carson Street, according to the NHP.

"It's not everyday that you hit someone," she said while wiping tears from her eyes.

Nagel, who was riding an orange Schwinn 10-speed bike, is in stable condition, a hospital official said.