He died December 22, 2014 after being struck by two vehicles as he was walking on a crosswalk in front of the Bonanza Casino in Reno, Nevada. Vincent Yowell was only 54-years-old.
A woman driving the first car pulled over and called for help before the second car ran over him. The second driver told detectives he thought he had hit an animal.
Vincent was born and grew up in Elko and graduated from Reno High School. He enjoyed walking for exercise, tribal pow-wows and rodeos where he would greet everyone with a smile and a hug.
He was known to me on two fronts; first as a driver for the local para-transit outfit and then as a radio jock. His death really hit the local broadcasting community hard as he was always at our local events.
Vince is one of a dozen people killed in the past 15-years trying to cross the dark, wide stretch of North Virginia Street between McCarran and Panther. Five of those people, including Vince, died crossing in front of the Bonanza Casino.
Finally, the state is going to do something about this dangerous stretch of roadway by installing a traffic signal where he died. The decision came after Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, who also knew Vince, reprimanded Nevada Department of Transportation for not acting sooner.
Sandoval personally knew Vince.
As one person wrote in the Reno Gazette-Journal, “Vincent, I hope you get your ‘Awful-Awful’s’ wherever you are.” I couldn’t agree more.
The Old Blog in the Desert 
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