Las Vega's teen in an e-bike crash remembered: 'Just so painful' | Local Las Vegas

On every vacation he drove, Brian Alexander O'Dea, 16, strived to drive a jet ski.

O'Dea was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, and loved being outside, said his stepfather Chris Curtis. O'Dea, who lived in Summerlin with his family, often rode with his scooter and went to the skate park.

On Monday evening he borrowed his brother's e-bike and rode it with a friend of the middle school. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, he died that night in a fatal accident with a pickup.

“It was very heartbreaking,” said Chris Curtis. “All feelings are very high. It is just so painful to have to deal with this loss.”

“So unexpected”

On Monday at 6:21 p.m., according to Metro, O'Dea drove a Segway Xyber electric bike with Guadalupe Carlos Angel Chavez (18) on the back.

The police said that the e-bike did not stop at the stop sign and collided with the passenger side of a pickup at the North Jones Boulevard and on the west Eugene Avenue.

O'Dea was declared dead on site, and Chavez was injured and brought to the university medicine center with injuries, the police said.

Curtis said the family was relaxed when they heard the news.

Chavez called an O'Dea cousin because of the accident that alarmed the family. They followed the GPS attached by bike, said Curtis.

“We just can't believe that this happened. It was so unexpected,” said Curtis.

Curtis started a gofundme to collect money for the funeral costs.

Loved family, friends

Curtis and O'Dea's mother Flor Maria Curtis had seven children between the two, and Curtis said he grew up O'Dea like a son since he was a baby. The family moved to Las Vegas in 2018.

“He was very loving and caring. He had a big heart. He loved his brothers and sisters. He loved his family. He just wanted the best for everyone,” said Chris Curtis.

O'Dea and Chavez became friends at the Cimarron Middle School, and O'Dea visited the Charter School ThrivePoint Academy.

As a junior, O'Dea worked to save a car.

Dangers of e-bikes

O'Dea's death was the 56th traffic -related death in the jurisdiction of Metro in 2025, the police said.

The sheriff of Clark County, Kevin McMahill, recently spoke about the lack of training in public security in connection with its use and an increase in reports on injuries, including deaths.

“You have these bicycles that every single of these children bought by their parents because all of their friends have them,” he said. “These things run 28, some of them 40 miles per hour if they are modified. Young children should simply not have these things,” said McMahill.

On April 15, Clark County introduced a regulation to regulate the use of electric bicycles and scooters in public spaces.

The proposal would put parameters on the types of electrical bicycles and scooters on recreational paths, which speed they can travel and what fines people are confronted if they do not obey the regulation.

Contact Katie Futterman at kfutterman@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ktfutts on X and @kaigzutterman.bsky.social.