Nevada motorcycle deaths up over last year

Motorcyclists in Southern Nevada and across the state are dying in traffic crashes at a higher rate this year than in 2024 — a grim figure underscored by at least seven more rider deaths in the state since early April.

Of the 93 fatal crashes reported from the start of this year through the end of March, at least 21 involved the death of a motorcyclist and 16 of those occurred in Clark County, according to preliminary figures published this month from the Nevada Department of Public Safety. That’s an increase of nearly 24 percent over the same time span last year, when 17 riders were killed on Nevada throughways.

“That’s a really high number of lives lost,” Erin Breen, coordinator of the UNLV Traffic Safety Coalition and director of the university’s Road Equity Alliance, told the Review-Journal in a phone interview Thursday. “And that should be completely unacceptable to everyone.”

Last year, an estimated 83 motorcyclists and 419 vehicle occupants were killed, the report stated, making it the deadliest year for all Nevada road users since 2006. That’s when a record 432 traffic fatalities were reported, according to previous reporting from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

But the tally of this year’s motorcyclist deaths does not include at least seven Nevada riders who have died in the weeks since the report came out April 4. Five of those have occurred since last week, and all but one is believed to have happened in Clark County.

On April 9, casino security worker Jordan Dodder, 37, was killed in a crash near the intersection of Russell Road and Lindell Road. Dodder on April 13 was honored at a vigil, and a recent GoFundMe raised more than $60,000 to benefit Dodder’s four children and his wife Kelly.

Las Vegas resident Joshua Yokley, 43, died at University Medical Center on April 7 after the driver of a 2006 Toyota Corolla failed to yield the right of way to Yokley as he was approaching a private drive in the 4900 block of Rancho Drive near Lone Mountain Road. The driver, 28-year-old Edward Dukes of Las Vegas, displayed signs of impairment and was arrested on suspicion of DUI, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Online records state Dukes is scheduled to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court on May 22.

Year-round motorcycling in Southern Nevada

Andrew Bennett, director of the Clark County Office of Traffic Safety, said unlike cities in cold-weather climates, Southern Nevada riders enjoy a year-round riding season, which may increase a rider’s risk of crashing. Additionally, Bennett said, many motorcyclists either don’t have the proper endorsements or do not have their bike registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Although the circumstances of each crash may differ, most road fatalities can be attributed to one of four factors, Bennett said: impairment, speed, failing to correctly yield the right-of-way, and visibility of so-called vulnerable road users such as motorcyclists, pedestrians and others.

“When folks are riding motorcycles, we need to ensure they understand that they are more difficult to see,” Bennett said. “Never assume you’re being seen by another driver.”

Bennett, Breen and law enforcement officials the Review-Journal spoke to for this article all urged motorcycle operators to consider basic and experienced rider courses available at locations across the state.

Las Vegas resident Michael Anderson, 34, died early Monday after he collided with a Regional Transportation Commission bus in the west valley. Police say Anderson struck the bus after reportedly failing to stop at a red light while traveling west on Desert Inn Road at Rainbow Boulevard.

Anderson was declared dead at the scene, police said. Anderson’s family on Wednesday created a GoFundMe, which as of Thursday had raised nearly $1,100 of its $20,000 goal to help cover funeral costs. Several relatives of Anderson could not be reached, but sister Isabel Anderson wrote on the GoFundMe page that Michael Anderson was killed “just minutes” from his home.

“He just finished spending Easter Sunday with all of us,” the fundraiser description reads. “And [he] got to enjoy one last Easter hunt with his children leaving a smile on all our faces in the moment.”

Two others — Kyle Rodgers, 25, of Reno, and Armando Perez, 44 — died over the weekend in crashes in Reno and Las Vegas, respectively. State police said Rodgers on Saturday was pronounced dead at the scene after he lost control of his Triumph Daytona 675 motorcycle and struck a guardrail while traveling south on state Route 341 near Rim Rock Road in Reno. Perez, meanwhile, died Friday at a Las Vegas-area hospital after colliding with an SUV while on his motor bike on Interstate 11 near Casino Center Boulevard.

Brian Frazier, 46, died April 17 after colliding with a vehicle near Sunset Road and Marks Street in Henderson, police said. Family members declined to comment to the Review-Journal, and a memorial service was held Thursday in Boulder City, according to social media posts by Frazier’s relatives.

‘Splitting lanes’

One day prior to Frazier’s death, 19-year-old Henderson resident Anthony Martinez was pronounced dead at an area hospital after the motorcycle he was riding April 14 crashed into several vehicles while driving north on I-11 near the 215 Beltway on-ramp, police said. According to a preliminary investigation, Martinez was riding “at a high rate of speed and passing vehicles recklessly,” when he struck a pickup truck and was ejected from the bike, the Highway Patrol said in a press release.

Troopers in their announcement of Martinez’s crash said he was “splitting lanes,” which is a driving maneuver in which the biker passes another vehicle from the same lane, and is illegal under state law, both Breen and Bennett noted.

“Speed with motorcyclists seems to be a theme far too often,” UNLV’s Breen said. “On a motorcycle, you’re traveling outside of a vehicle. There is no seat belt to hold you in place. There is no airbag to cushion your fall. You come flying off a motorcycle at, say, 50 miles per hour, it’s very likely that could take your life.”

It also exacerbates the importance of using basic safety equipment like helmets, gloves and body armor, Breen said.

“Very often, it’s the helmet that can save a motorcyclist’s life,” Breen said.

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.