FBI agent, daughter die in crash on Route 160

Cathy Scott

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

An FBI special agent and his daughter were killed in a head-on collision while riding his motorcycle on State Route 160.

Fred DeWitt, 51, driving his 1995 Harley Davidson east on State Route 160 with his daughter, Julie Ibeson, 23, on the back, veered into oncoming traffic about 7 p.m. Sunday, striking a Toyota sedan, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Steve Harney said.

Bobby Siller, agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas bureau, was touched personally by DeWitt's death.

"Fred and I were classmates," Siller said today. "We went through the new agents' training together. I've known him all of my bureau career. It was an honor to be here, to be with him in this office. It was a good feeling to know that someone I started with was here with me."

DeWitt and Ibeson were thrown from the motorcycle and were pronounced dead at the accident scene by paramedics. DeWitt, an avid motorcyclist, was wearing leather gear.

The occupants of the Toyota, 28-year-old Patricia Thomie and Rhonda Button, 47, both of Pahrump, suffered minor cuts to their faces from a broken windshield and airbags that inflated. Both were wearing seat belts, Harney said.

The accident occurred 21 miles west of Interstate 15 in the southwest Las Vegas Valley.

DeWitt was assigned to the violent crimes and multiple offenders squad and served as the principle firearms instructor for the bureau in Las Vegas.

He joined the FBI in April 1973, serving in the Detroit field office until July 1, 1991, when he transferred to Las Vegas.

"He was a good father," Siller said. "He watched my kids grow up and I watched his kids grow up. He was just a fine person. He's one of those individuals who would do anything for you. Everybody who knew him just loved him."

Ibeson was visiting her father for Thanksgiving from Arizona, where she was a student at Arizona State University. Her 26-year-old brother, Phillip Ibeson, lived with his father. Their mother, Nancy DeWitt, lives in St. Joseph, Mo.

DeWitt and his daughter had participated earlier in the day in the Toys for Tots drive at Sam Boyd Stadium.

NHP traffic investigators were trying to determine today why DeWitt drove into the oncoming lane, Harney said.

"He had come around a curve and was going downhill when he cut over the double yellow line," Harney said. "He might have gotten confused, thinking there was a passing lane there. It's hard to determine why. It's still under investigation."

The women in the other vehicle told troopers, "All of a sudden they saw a headlight coming at them," Harney said.

The accident caused the highway to be shut down for four hours while the vehicles were cleared from the roadway, Harney said.

DeWitt