Bail set for Gragson, ex-Las Vegas mayor’s grandson, in fatal wreck
A judge set bail at $250,000 Friday for a prominent businessman and grandson of a former Las Vegas mayor charged in a DUI crash that left one person dead and two injured in a gated Summerlin community.
Scott Russell Gragson, 53, was arrested after a high-speed rollover crash Thursday in The Ridges neighborhood, according to Metropolitan Police Department booking records. Police were called about 4:50 p.m. to the intersection of Granite Ridge and Grey Feather drives, near Flamingo Road and Town Center Drive, Metro Lt. Mike Bechler said.
Gragson faces charges of DUI resulting in death, two counts of DUI resulting in significant bodily harm and three counts of reckless driving resulting in death or significant bodily harm, according to Clark County Detention Center records.
Should Gragson post bail, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman ordered him not to drink alcohol. He also must surrender his passport, the judge decided.
Outside of court, Gragson’s attorney, David Chesnoff, told reporters: “The only comment I would make is we’re going to do all of our talking in court, and we have a lot of investigating to do of our own.”
Police say speed a factor
The crash occurred when a 2015 Range Rover SVR traveling at a high rate of speed southbound on Granite Ridge failed to maintain control on a left curve south of Grey Feather, according to a preliminary crash report released early Friday by Metro. Property records indicate Gragson owns a home in The Ridges.
The vehicle left the road to the right and rolled before striking several large trees, ejecting three unrestrained back-seat passengers.
A 36-year-old woman died at the scene, while a 50-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman suffered serious injuries.
Gragson and a 44-year-old passenger in the right front seat suffered minor injuries.
All were transported to University Medical Center.
The collision marks the 49th traffic-related fatality in Metro’s jurisdiction this year.
The Clark County coroner’s office will release the name of the deceased passenger, as well as her cause and manner of death, after relatives have been notified.
Active in the community
Since 1997, Gragson has worked as the executive vice president of the Las Vegas land division of Colliers International, a large commercial real estate firm, according to the firm’s website. He is also a managing member of GKT Acquisitions, a company that buys and sells real estate, the website said.
Gragson is the grandson of former Las Vegas Mayor Oran Gragson, who served as mayor from 1959 to 1974, and the father of Noah Gragson, a NASCAR Xfinity Series driver.
Gragson has been associated with numerous charity organizations. As of Friday, he is listed as a member of the board of directors for Hope For Prisoners, and a trustee for the Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Southern Nevada. He is also a founder of Camp Independent Firefly, a camp for children with cancer and blood disorders that is run through the Candlelighters foundation, according to the Colliers website.
He was formerly on the board of directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Nevada, according to a 2007 annual report for the organization.
The Colliers website lists Gragson as an “active supporter” for the Links for Life Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Colliers that donates to children’s charities. He is identified as a board member of the foundation in a 2016 article from a Southern Nevada real estate news website.
The website also says Gragson served on the Boy Scouts Invitational Golf Committee, the board of directors for the Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Foundation, and as a member of the Nevada Power Citizens Advisory Panel.
He previously served on the board for the Bank of Las Vegas and has “most recently been asked” to serve on the governor’s office of economic development familiarization tour committee, the website said.
Gragson was one of multiple defendants named in a 2017 lawsuit filed by Francisco Durban, a SpeedVegas driving instructor who sought an order to close the track because of safety concerns. Gragson owned the track land, the Review-Journal reported in March 2017.
The civil lawsuit was dismissed after a confidential settlement agreement.
Gragson’s property deals with McCarran International Airport were investigated in 2005, after he flipped publicly owned parcels through land swaps with the airport. After local and federal investigations, he was cleared of any wrongdoing, the Review-Journal reported.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer David Ferrara contributed to this report.
