‘Excruciating pain’: Las Vegas motorcyclist died in crash just weeks after engagement
Jacob Flavie Lee had just kissed his fiance the night he set out on what would be his final ride on his prized motorcycle.
The couple had gotten engaged two weeks earlier.
“They were perfect for each other. They balanced each other so well,” Toni Lee, his mother, said. “He would have done anything for her. She would have done anything for him.”
Jacob Lee was waiting to get the engagement ring sized for his fiancee, Hannah Cookson, before the pair announced the engagement.
But they would never get the chance.
At around 1 a.m. on July 23, 22-year-old Jacob Lee was riding his 2014 Yamaha V Star motorcycle on East Carey Avenue in northeast Las Vegas. Near North Christy Lane, he lost control and crashed into a light pole, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Jacob Lee’s family remembered him as a kind, dependable and humorous person who went out of his way to help his family and friends. He was a playful younger brother, a hard worker and a loving son, according to those who knew him best.
His family never expected him to leave so soon. As a child, he survived a bullet to the head while trick-or-treating — and being electrocuted — Toni Lee said. To those around him, Jacob Lee seemed invincible.
“The pain of losing him is excruciating,” Toni Lee said. “I’d give anything to take his place.”
The family raised $6,500 on GoFundMe to cover Jacob Lee’s funeral service, which took place Aug. 2. It culminated in a big party, which Jacob Lee told his family he would have wanted if he died.
‘He left doing what he loved’
Jacob Lee got his first motorcycle when he was 4 years old. He grew up racing minibikes with his sister, Katelynn Long, 27. Eventually, Toni Lee saw several other kids get into accidents in their minibikes, and she pulled her children out of the activity.
Still, Jacob Lee always dreamed of having his own motorcycle. He finally bought his own just weeks before the accident, trading in his only other vehicle, an old Dodge truck, for his Yamaha.
Hours before the crash, Jacob Lee, a mechanic at DOC Auto Repair, lent a welder to a friend, installed Ring doorbells at another friend’s house and did a brake job for another friend.
“I can have a little peace in knowing that when he left this world, he left doing what he loved,” Toni Lee said. “He loved helping people. He had just kissed the love of his life goodbye and he was riding his motorcycle.”
Jacob Lee hoped to eventually start his own fabrication company, RDNK (‘Redneck’) Fabrications and help people build tricked-out cars, Long said. Already a devoted uncle, Jacob Lee also couldn’t wait to be a father.
Lil’ Boo
His sister described the siblings’ relationship as strongly affectionate, yet punctuated by constant playful teasing. When Jacob Lee was born, Long immediately claimed him as her brother and asked her mother if she could name him.
If it was a brother, Long would name him Jacob, Toni Lee said. If it was a sister, Long would name her Luke Skywalker. Toni Lee was relieved when she realized she was having a boy.
“He never passed up the opportunity to make somebody smile,” Long said. “He could make you laugh even on your worst day.”
When Long got engaged to her wife in 2023, they went on a trip to New Mexico. Long said she and her wife faced some backlash from distant family members for their relationship, and she cut the trip short to return to Las Vegas.
Jacob Lee quickly got to work to cheer up his older sister, Long said. He went to the store in search of engagement party supplies, but they didn’t have anything for queer couples.
Undeterred, Jacob Lee bought two of every set so Long and her wife could each have a bride-to-be sash. When she walked in the door, he surprised them with a miniature engagement party.
“He always wanted everyone to feel included and safe,” Long said.
Growing up, Jacob Lee told his sister they would be rappers one day. Jacob, nicknamed Boo Boo, would be Lil’ Boo, and Katelynn, nicknamed Pooh Bear, would be Lil’ Pooh, and the duo would take the world by storm.
“I was like, ‘OK, let me put that into my phone real quick,’” Long said. “Imagine being mad at your brother and having to say, ‘Hey Siri, call Lil’ Boo.’”
Long said she plans to get a tattoo of her brother riding his motorcycle and “make the world a better place like he did.”
For now, Jacob Lee’s family believes he is in heaven, which Toni Lee said provides some comfort. Her son loved the HARDY song, “Give Heaven Some Hell.” Listening to it, Jacob Lee would think of his late grandfather, who died in 2020.
“I have no doubt that the second he crashed his motorcycle, my dad was right there with him, and they’re up there giving heaven some hell together,” Toni Lee said.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the year Jacob Lee’s grandfather died.
Contact Isaiah Steinberg at isteinberg@reviewjournal.com. Follow @IsaiahStei27 on X.
