Procession for motorcyclist highlights rise in Las Vegas fatalities
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Multiple police cars, several motorcycles, and one firetruck helped escort 21-year-old Anton Figley to his final resting place. His family called it his “last ride.”
It comes after years of riding his motorcycle, a passion of his despite the wishes of his mother, Alicia Botzenhardt. However, as he began to pursue a passion for saving people’s lives, she gave in.
“He went to EMT school, blew through that. Did Advanced EMT school. Blew through that,” Botzenhardt said through tears inside Heritage Mortuary Thursday afternoon. “His goal was to become a firefighter, and I really believed he was going to make it.”
Figley was an advanced EMT for Community Ambulance by day and a skilled rider by night. On January 29, he was en route to Red Rock Canyon. Around 2:30 p.m., police said Figley hit the back of a Ford Fusion as it turned in front of him to enter a shopping center near Charleston Boulevard and Indigo Drive.
At the “high rate of speed,” police reported him to be traveling at, he was taken to UMC trauma by ambulance. Botzenhardt said he remained on life support for several days so his organs could properly be harvested. Those organs saved the lives of six others, as Figley became the nineteenth traffic-related fatality within the first month of 2024.
“He was out there helping to save lives, and then his life was taken,” Botzenhardt said through tears. “He had his whole life ahead of him.”
Damon Schuetze specializes in legal representation for motorcyclists in Clark County at Legal Ride. He points to recent police data that shows a 250 percent increase in motorcycle fatalities from this same time last year.
As of February 16, seven motorcyclists have died on Vegas roads within LVMPD’s jurisdiction. Same time in 2023, only two died. 33 motorcyclists were killed in total last year, which is down from a spike in these fatalities after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in 2021.
“It definitely has gotten more dangerous on the roads as the roads have been more crowded,” Schuetze said during a virtual interview Thursday morning. “Until it affects one of them personally, I don’t know what you do to the drivers.”
He also acknowledges a split responsibility between drivers who don’t keep a wide enough eye and riders who don’t travel at appropriate speeds. He added that the basic training to receive a license to operate motorcycles has remained relatively unchanged since the 1970s.
“If you know the drivers don’t care and they’re not looking, then, you know, I think we have a responsibility to ourselves. That’s where the state can really help with more education and training,” Schuetze said. “It’s just not working. More enforcement and no additional safety or training, it’s just resulting in more fatalities.”
Advocates like him add that not even three percent of all licensed Nevada drivers are qualified to legally ride a motorcycle, which they feel means less of a voice when lobbying for specific traffic safety laws tailored to motorcyclists.
While those efforts remain ongoing, motorcycle families valley-wide are pleading with drivers to not help to create more statistics.
“They have lives too, and deserve to share the road with the rest of us,” Botzenhardt said, looking down at her phone. Her screensaver is her son.
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