Quiet holiday weekend marred by three deaths

Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2002 | 11:13 a.m.

Labor Day weekend was quiet, with fewer visitors coming into Las Vegas than usual.

Above-average temperatures didn't put a damper on picnics and barbecues at area parks or those enjoying outdoor recreation from hiking to boating.

But two fatal accidents -- one in Boulder City, the other at Lake Mead -- marred the unofficial end of summer.

Two Boulder City residents died in an all-terrain vehicle accident early Saturday morning, and an Arizona man drowned Sunday at Lake Mead.

However, the Nevada Highway Patrol reported no fatal accidents on Southern Nevada's freeways by 11 p.m. Monday.

And in Metro Police's jurisdiction, "It was steady, but nothing real substantial," Sgt. Rick Barela said.

Visitor estimates at the lake are not yet available, but the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that the overall number of tourists in Las Vegas over the weekend dropped by about 4,000 to 270,000.

At Lake Mead it looked like there may have been a slight drop in the number of visitors, National Park Service spokeswoman Kay Rohde said.

"We've had as many as 170,000 visitors over the Labor Day weekend in recent years, but this year it wasn't overwhelming," Rohde said. "It was steadily busy, but people are spreading out their visits more now."

The weekend accidents accounted for the deaths of three people.

Boulder City Police officers are investigating an all-terrain vehicle accident on Avenue K near Kendrick Place that killed 22-year-old Anthony Hite and 16-year-old Josh Aginiga.

The accident happened about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday when the vehicle struck a curb, throwing both riders, police said.

Aginiga, of Las Vegas, was pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver, Hite, of Boulder City, was airlifted to University Medical Center's Trauma Unit, where he died shortly after arriving.

Neither was wearing a helmet, police said.

An El Mirage, Ariz., man died in the Sunday drowning at Lake Mead.

Trevor McKenzie Dinesen, 21, was swimming with friends at Sandy Cove about 5:30 p.m. Sunday when he dove under water, authorities said.

His friends noticed Dinesen did not surface, and called National Park Service rangers for help.

Divers searched and recovered the body in about 40 feet of water around 100 feet from shore about 6 p.m. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene about 7:50 p.m.

The victim was not wearing a life jacket, Rohde said.

Dinesen was the eighth person to drown at Lake Mead this year, and none of the victims were wearing life jackets.

"We had some other medical emergencies over the weekend, but nothing serious," Rohde said. "We did have a storm come through that threw everything into chaos for a little while, but otherwise it was a pretty good weekend."

Sun reporter Jace Radke contributed to this story.