ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Longtime NBA agent Dan Fegan died in a car crash Sunday. He was 56.
The Colorado State Patrol says Fegan was driving an SUV when he tried to merge onto a highway and was broadsided by a commuter bus near Aspen, which is about 180 miles west of Denver.
Colorado State Trooper Gabe Easton told the Aspen Times the SUV's other occupants, Fegan's 5-year-old son and a 29-year-old California woman, were airlifted to a Denver hospital in serious condition.
"Today we lost a great man, father, son and brother who always stood up not only for his clients, but also for what he knew was right," Fegan's family said in a statement through spokesman Terry Fahn . "We are all shocked and saddened by this tragic development and appreciate the outpouring of support. We ask for privacy at this difficult time."
The NBA posted a tweet offering its condolences and thoughts to Fegan's family.
No one on the bus was hurt. The Roaring Fork Transportation Authority CEO said the driver didn't have time to avoid the collision.
Fegan was long considered one of the best player agents in the NBA, a ruthless negotiator on behalf of clients that included John Wall, Dwight Howard and DeMarcus Cousins. In 2016, Fegan was on Forbes magazine's list of top agents.
"Arms around his family," National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts tweeted. "Rest In Peace, my friend."
He was fired last year as president of Independent Sports & Entertainment's basketball division, but remained close with the clients he'd worked with for many years.
Howard tweeted that his "heart and prayers go out to the family."