‘So unexpected’: Summerlin teen killed in e-bike crash remembered

Every vacation he went on, Brian Alexander O’dea, 16, was eager to ride a Jet ski.

Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, O’dea loved to be outside, said his stepfather Chris Curtis. O’dea, who lived with his family in Summerlin, often rode his scooter and went to the skatepark.

On Monday night, he borrowed his brother’s e-bike and rode it with a friend from middle school. That night, he died in a fatal crash with a pickup truck, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

“It’s been very heartbreaking,” Chris Curtis said. “Everyone’s emotions are very high. It’s just so painful to have to deal with this loss.”

‘So unexpected’

At 6:21 p.m. Monday, O’dea was driving a Segway Xyber Electric Bike with Guadalupe Carlos Angel Chavez, 18, on the back, according to Metro.

Police said the e-bike did not stop at the stop sign and collided with the passenger side of a pickup truck at at North Jones Boulevard and West Eugene Avenue.

O’dea was pronounced dead on the scene, and Chavez was injured and transported to the University Medical Center with injuries, police said.

Curtis said that the family had been relaxing when they heard the news.

Chavez called a cousin of O’dea’s about the accident, who alerted the family. They followed the GPS attached to the bike, Curtis said.

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

Curtis started a GoFundMe to raise money for funeral costs.

Loved family, friends

Curtis and O’dea’s mother, Flor Maria Curtis, had seven children between the two of them, and Curtis said he had raised 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 around him,” Chris Curtis said.

O’dea and Chavez became friends at Cimarron Middle School, and O’dea went on to attend the charter school ThrivePoint Academy.

As a junior, O’dea was working on saving up to get a car.

Dangers of e-bikes

O’dea’s death marked the 56th traffic-related death in Metro’s jurisdiction in 2025, police said.

Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill recently spoke about the lack of public safety education related to their use and an uptick of reports of injuries, including fatalities.

“You have these bicycles that every single one of these kids are getting bought by their parents because all their friends have them,” he said. “These things are going 28, some of them 40 mph, when they’re modified. Young kids should just not have these things,” McMahill said.

Clark County introduced an ordinance on April 15 to regulate the use of electric bicycles and scooters in public spaces.

The proposal would set parameters on what types of electric-powered bikes and scooters are allowed on recreation paths, what speed they can travel and what fines people could face if they disobey the ordinance.

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