Road safety, business after death, drone activity to be monitored by RJ in 2026
It was a busy news year for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. With the growth the Las Vegas Valley is experiencing, it’s not expected that 2026 will be any different.
As we head into 2026, here are three topics pertaining to public health and safety that Review-Journal reporters will continue to cover in the new year:
E-safety
Perhaps no other news topic in 2025 soared to the top of residents’ minds like road safety.
Fatal crashes in the Metropolitan Police Department’s jurisdiction — there were 160 fatalities as of Dec. 28 — were up over the 159 traffic deaths in Metro’s jurisdiction in 2024.
And anyone who uses the roads, sidewalks and trails in the valley this year has noticed the uptick in e-bikes, e-motorcycles, and e-scooters being used.
During one deadly 26-hour span in December, the valley recorded four unrelated fatal crashes where motorcycles were involved.
In November, authorities said a driver reached a speed of 110 mph before plowing into several vehicles stopped at a busy intersection, causing a fiery 12-vehicle crash that left three people including his pregnant girlfriend dead. Jose Gutierrez, the 19-year-old driver suspected of causing the crash, acted intentionally, prosecutors believe, and has been charged with three counts of murder, among other charges. It’s a case that the Review-Journal will continue to follow.
In addition to all the other types of crashes, Metro started tracking fatal collisions involving e-scooters, e-bikes and electric skateboards in 2025 and had recorded five e-scooter deaths, three e-bike deaths and one electric skateboard death through December.
In 2026, it’s likely that safety on our roads will continue to be a newsworthy issue in the valley.
Mystery of cremated human remains
In late August, federal officials confirmed to the Review-Journal that discarded cremated human remains were found outside Searchlight, according to the Bureau of Land Management.
Brian Hires, a spokesman for the agency, said in an email that the cremated human remains were found on BLM land about an hour south of Las Vegas. Hires said an investigation was opened, but very little about the remains has become known publicly since the grim discovery.
It’s a seeming mystery that the Review-Journal will continue to ask questions about in 2026.
Eyes in the skies
As technology continues to develop in many different aspects of American life, advancements in tech continue to change the way that police departments — quite literally — keep an eye on citizens.
In the fall of 2025, Metro publicly unveiled its plan to use rooftops around Las Vegas as launchpads for its growing fleet of drones.
Right now, police mostly use drones to help locate potential suspects, but it remains to be seen how the devices could be used in the future.
The Review-Journal will continue to report on how police use technology — in 2026 and beyond.
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.
