James Leamy Jr. was thrilled to buy his first motorcycle at 21. The auto enthusiast had developed an interest in off-road motorcycles as a child, loving the adrenaline rush he got from riding them, and finally purchased a jet black 2005 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R off Facebook Marketplace in September.

But over two months later, the North Las Vegas Police Department found Leamy Jr. dead at the scene of a collision on Dec. 12 near Cheyenne Avenue and Belmont Street. Police said Leamy Jr. was speeding on his motorcycle when he collided with the rear of a Chevrolet hatchback that made a U-turn in front of him, throwing Leamy Jr. off the bike he had long dreamed of owning.

Now, Leamy Jr.’s parents, family and loved ones are mourning the loss of a budding mechanic who they said was a caring and humorous son and brother.

“He always did what he could do to make other people happy, even when he wasn’t happy himself,” said Alexzandria Leamy, his older sister. “No matter what he had going on, if anybody needed help, he would be there to do it.”

‘I knew the bike would take my son’

Leamy Jr.’s mother, Renee Riley, said her son was going three times over the speed limit when he collided with the Chevrolet.

Riley said she and Leamy Jr. had “talks nightly” about being safe on the motorcycle inside her North Las Vegas residence where the two lived. With her constant reminders to ride safely, Riley said she felt like she did all she could to keep her son safe.

“When he brought it home, I knew the bike would take my son one day. I didn’t expect it to be so fast, but I knew. The more comfortable he got, the faster he started going,” Riley said. “It’s what brought him the most joy in life, so I accepted it.”

Riley said her six other children have been helping her navigate the grief of losing her son, feeling that she is now “forever changed.”

“A whole part of me is gone. It’ll always be gone,” Riley said. “They say it gets easier. I don’t know. I don’t think it will.”

While reflecting on Leamy Jr.’s life, Riley recalled when the west valley multi-family home she and her kids were living in caught on fire in 2021. She said Leamy Jr. rushed through the home to help his family and pets get out safely while collecting as many valuable items as possible as the residence burned.

In the fire’s aftermath, Mayra Martinez said she housed Leamy Jr. and his two brothers. She said her sons had developed strong friendships with the boys in middle school and called Leamy Jr. “a very uplifting person.”

“If you were down and sad, he would just want to help you in any way possible that he could, whether he was trying to make you laugh, whether he was trying to help you figure out a situation,” Martinez said.

After he left Western High School, Riley said Leamy Jr. enrolled in a mechanic trade school, but had difficulties conforming to the class’ structure.

“James was a hands-on person. He worked better being shown rather than him reading it himself,” Riley said. “But he could watch somebody do something and he could do it right after them.”

Leamy Jr. ultimately left the school, but began pursuing his mechanic work as a hobby. Riley said he was in the process of building his own dune buggy that he intended on painting yellow to look like Bumblebee from the Transformers franchise.

Before his death, Riley said Leamy Jr. was also planning on earning his commercial driver’s license so he could pursue a career in trucking, following in the footsteps of his late motorcycle-loving grandfather.

“I know my son’s in a good place,” Riley said. “He’s with his grandfather riding his Harley.”

Safety struggles in Las Vegas

Leamy Jr.’s crash was one of four motorcyclist deaths in the valley in just over 24 hours between Dec. 12 and Dec. 13.

In a region where deaths among vulnerable road users — pedestrians, motorcyclists, cyclists — fatalities are trending upward, motorcyclists often bear the brunt of poor driving habits like speeding and distracted driving because their vehicles offer less physical protection than cars, said Laurie Sanders, the Motorcycle Safety program manager at College of Southern Nevada.

“People here treat the speed limit like it’s a suggestion,” Sanders said. “If you drive anywhere in this city, you know that.”

She said the relatively low barrier to entry for getting a motorcycle license in Nevada means motorcyclists can ride without frequently practicing important skills that could prevent them from getting injured.

“I can teach somebody to ride a horse, but they’re never going to be an Olympic jumper just because you learn how to hang on. What does it take to be an Olympic jumper? It takes training,” Sanders said. “What does it take to ride as safely as you possibly can with as good skill as you could possibly have? It takes going in and taking more than just a basic rider course.”

Sanders encouraged motorcyclists to stay situationally aware, keep their bikes properly maintained and make sure they do not take risks on the road that they don’t have the skill to pull off if something goes wrong.

After losing her son to speeding, Riley had one request for motorcyclists riding over the speed limit: “Slow down.”

“You don’t need to go that fast. People can’t see you when you’re going that fast,” she said. “And above all, follow the road rules. Don’t do stupid things that could ultimately end your life or somebody else’s, for that matter. We all deserve to live another day.”

Contact Spencer Levering at slevering@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253.