Candlelight vigil honors those killed on Nevada’s roads in 2024 — PHOTOS

Kim Pack of Las Vegas wasn’t sure what she would feel going into Friday’s Nevada Highway Patrol vigil for those who lost their lives in traffic crashes in the state last year.

In October, Pack lost her son, Kenyon Bybee, 44, after he was struck by a pickup while walking across Charleston Boulevard near Red Rock Casino.

“To see other people going through the same thing that you did, it kind of does help,” Pack said. “I didn’t realize there were so many.”

Pack and her husband, Stan Pack, were among about 75 people who came out for the evening vigil at the Highway Patrol’s Southern Command headquarters, just south of Harry Reid International Airport.

After a few speakers said some words, 88 candles were lit inside paper bags, which featured the names of all the crash victims who died in the Highway Patrol’s southern jurisdiction, which includes Southern Nevada, last year.

Statewide, 412 people lost their lives in crashes on Nevada roads in 2024, according to the Highway Patrol. That was up from 390 in 2023, but less than the 416 fatalities recorded in 2022, according to state records.

For the four years from 2018 through 2021, the state recorded an average of 338 traffic fatalities per year.

Through the first two months of 2025, 71 fatalities have been recorded, according to the Nevada Department of Public Safety. That was 10 more than were reported through the first two months of 2024.

“Behind every statistic is a face,” said Kevin Honea, a deputy chief with the Highway Patrol. “A parent, a child, a sibling, a friend … and their stories will never fade.”

A candle for each name

As dusk began to turn to darkness Friday, Highway Patrol troopers lit each candle after each name was read.

Veronica Ramos of Phoenix was among a group of family members who traveled to the vigil from Arizona to honor Antonio Aguilera and Virginia Whiting, who died after being struck by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 11 near Boulder City on June 1.

Martin Andino, who was driving while impaired at the time of the crash, was later sentenced to 14 years in prison, according to court records.

Ramos and others in her group wore T-shirts bearing a photo of Aguilera, 21, and Whiting, 19, who were boyfriend and girlfriend.

“It makes me happy to know that people here in Nevada are trying to make people more aware of drunk drivers and that things need to change,” Ramos said. “There has to be something different or we’re going to continue to have more and more numbers as time goes by.”

Honea mentioned a number of proposed law changes before the Nevada Legislature this year that would tighten penalties for wrong-way driving and driving while impaired.

For instance, Assembly Bill 111, which would make wrong-way driving on a divided highway a misdemeanor, received a judiciary committee hearing in February, although nothing has been finalized.

Assemblymember Brian Hibbetts, R-Las Vegas, is sponsoring the bill, which has been dubbed “Jaya’s Law” in honor of Jaya Brooks, 3. Brooks was among three people killed in a wrong-way crash in December 2023, including the wrong-way driver, in the northwest Las Vegas Valley. Wrong-way driving is currently a civil infraction in Nevada, Hibbets previously told the Review-Journal.

‘They seem not to change’

Like a number of those in attendance Friday, Honea said changes need to be made. More awareness, he said, will help.

“With the Legislative session that we’re currently in, there’s a lot of traffic safety initiatives out there, a lot of little tweaks to the law,” Honea said. “It’s a pretty important time for us right now. The timing of this vigil is just about perfect.”

Stan Pack said it’s obvious that things need to change, though he’s not sure if anything will change.

“They seem not to change,” Pack said. “With (impaired driving), drugs and alcohol have been our demons forever. They continue to take the lives of our loved ones. Hopefully, people get educated. There’s ride-shares and so many different ways for people to maneuver after they party.”

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.