172 Pedestrians Died on Just Nine Clark County Streets, and Volunteers Chalked Outlines to Show It

by Ryan Rose

What Happened on Saturday

The chalk outlines are part of #Dusk2Dawn, a yearly pedestrian safety campaign. Clark County leaders launched this year's campaign on Oct. 28. It focuses on the added danger people face on foot as the days get shorter. Daylight saving time ended at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1.

On Saturday, teams of volunteers went out to the nine streets. Support vehicles protected them while they worked. Each white outline stands for a real person who was walking and did not make it home.

The work itself is careful and a little sobering. A past volunteer posting for this effort described how it runs. Teams of three meet at the Clark County Government Center parking lot, get an assigned area, and chalk an outline in the far right lane where a person was hit and killed. A large support vehicle, such as a fire truck, ambulance or public works truck, blocks traffic so the team can work. Last year's campaign also put a chalk outline on signs at bus stops and on RTC buses, so riders and drivers would see the same image.

News 3 named three of the people honored, all on Lake Mead Boulevard. Eric Estrada was 17. He was killed in February in a crosswalk crash at Lake Mead and Lamont Street. Police say the driver fled the scene and was charged with DUI resulting in death. Keith Ruiz was 27. He was killed in May 2024, and his outline sits on the westbound side of that same crosswalk. JaLa Braxton was 11. She was killed last year while walking home, and her outline is on Lake Mead near Concord Street. She was outside a crosswalk at the time.

Officials describe the nine streets as places where dangerous driving and weak road design meet. Ped Safe has also pushed back on a common reaction to these crashes. The group says people are too quick to assume the person walking did something wrong. When someone dies at an unmarked crossing or on a poorly lit stretch, it says we should ask whether that street was ever built with walkers in mind.

One gap you should know about: the full list of nine streets is NOT FOUND in the News 3 report. The story names Charleston Boulevard and Lake Mead Boulevard. It gives a death count for Charleston only, so we are not going to guess at the other seven. A separate News 3 story from Oct. 28 put Lake Mead at 15 pedestrian deaths over the past five years.

Long exposure of white headlights and red taillights curving along a road after dark

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

Start with the speed limit, because it may be the most important detail in this story. All nine roads are posted at 45 mph. A AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study looked at how impact speed changes a pedestrian's odds. The average risk of death reached 10 percent at 23 mph, 25 percent at 32 mph, 50 percent at 42 mph, and 75 percent at 50 mph.

That study used crash data from the 1990s, so treat the numbers as a guide and not a promise. Still, the point is clear. At the speeds these roads allow, a person hit by a car has close to a coin flip's chance of surviving, or worse. That is why officials keep repeating the same request. Slow down and pay full attention.

Now add the dark. Nationally, about 76 percent of pedestrian deaths happen in dark conditions, according to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. In a 2019 report on the campaign, local officials said pedestrian deaths here tend to rise in the evening darkness after the time change. The daylight did not shrink last Sunday. The clock just moved, so the drive home from work and the walk from the bus stop now land closer to nightfall.

Lighting is a real concern here as well. Ped Safe says missing or poor street lighting adds to the danger on these roads. That problem has a very local twist. Clark County says copper wire theft has caused thousands of streetlight outages. Public Works has found more than 300 locations where wire was stolen and repairs are needed, and the county estimates nearly 1 million feet of wire has been taken since 2022. So a dark stretch of road may not be a design choice at all. It may be a repair still waiting in line.

Then there is the question of where people cross. FOX5 reported in August that 63 percent of Nevada pedestrian deaths happen where there is no crosswalk, citing state traffic safety numbers. On a wide Las Vegas road, the next signal can be a long walk away. Plenty of people cross where the bus drops them off. Erin Breen of Ped Safe Vegas has asked why we are not helping people do that more safely. The state's transportation department has warned that mid-block crosswalks can bring their own problems when drivers do not expect them.

This affects nearly everyone. Parents have kids walking to school. Shift workers ride the bus before sunrise and after dark. Older neighbors cross these roads for groceries and doctor visits. And if you are the driver, nobody wants to live with hitting someone on the way home.

E-bikes and e-scooters add one more thing to watch for. Breen said last year that many riders travel against traffic, which makes them harder for drivers to expect. So when you pull out of a shopping center or neighborhood at night, look both ways, even if cars only come from one side. Someone may be coming from the direction you did not check.

Background: How Bad Is It, Really?

Those chalk outlines have been part of this campaign for years. The Associated Press reported in November 2019 that Dusk 2 Dawn used 91 white outlines to mark places around Las Vegas where pedestrians had died. Erin Breen, then described as chief of the Vulnerable Road Users Project at UNLV, led the effort.

That same report said NHTSA ranked Nevada the fifth most dangerous state for pedestrians in 2017. It also said Clark County ranked 11th among 25 U.S. counties for yearly pedestrian deaths from 2014 to 2018.

The more recent trend is better. KTNV reported that Clark County had 83 pedestrian deaths in 2025, down from 97 in 2024. Total Clark County traffic deaths fell from 296 to 239 over the same stretch. Even so, by our math, pedestrians made up about one out of every three traffic deaths in the county last year.

Why do police keep coming back to the same message? In July, Lt. Cody Fulwiler of Metro told News 3 that speed and not paying attention are the biggest factors in these crashes. He also said Metro has seen a large drop in pedestrian-related deaths, though that report did not give a number.

This year looks better again. You will see a few different counts in the news, and they do not match because each one covers a different area or time period. Here is how to keep them straight:

Metro police data, via News 3: 101 traffic deaths in Metro's area this year, compared with 131 by Oct. 25 last year.
Nevada Office of Traffic Safety, via News 3: 109 traffic deaths in Clark County from January through July, down from 157 in the same months of 2025.
Nevada Office of Traffic Safety, via FOX5: 167 traffic deaths statewide from January through June, including 43 pedestrians.

State officials say these figures are preliminary and will not be final until early 2028. And a better year does not erase the 172. Those five and a half years of deaths are the reason volunteers were out on the road this weekend.

Person in a dark coat holding an umbrella while crossing a city street at night as cars wait with their lights on

What Happens Next

Enforcement comes first. On Oct. 29, officers ran a pedestrian safety sting on Nellis Boulevard, at the crosswalk near Philadelphia and New World avenues, in a 25 mph school zone. Metro, North Las Vegas police, CCSD police, Henderson police and UNLV police all took part, according to FOX5. Officers in costume walked the crosswalk while patrol cars waited up the street for drivers who failed to yield, sped or blocked the crossing. Officers said more of these operations are coming at other dangerous crosswalks. FOX5 reported that this sting came after a recent deadly crash in which a student was struck when a driver passed a stopped car.

To give you a sense of scale, a similar Dusk2Dawn operation on Boulder Highway last year ended with 63 drivers stopped. Henderson police said 44 got citations and 19 got warnings. So yes, a ticket is a real possibility.

Road changes are slower. Clark County Commission Chair Michael Naft said at the Oct. 28 launch that road design has a real effect on safety and that he will keep pushing for better design, working with the RTC. The state plans to add flashing pedestrian lights at Lake Mead and Lamont, where Eric Estrada was killed. News 3 reports those lights are still years away. A firm install date is NOT FOUND.

Fixes between intersections are harder still. In August, FOX5 reported on a busy seven-lane crossing where Breen wants a lighted crosswalk, a change she called expensive. The Nevada Department of Transportation said only that it would look into the idea. That is the honest state of things right now. Signs, chalk and tickets can happen in a week. Lights, medians and new crossings can take years and real money.

The volunteers' goal is simple. They hope the outlines remind drivers to slow down and look for people on foot. They also hope more residents start asking for permanent fixes. Watch for how long the chalk lasts on your commute, and watch for the next state traffic report to see whether the improving numbers hold up through these darker months.

Wide city boulevard at night with long lines of traffic, streetlights and streaks of red taillights

Ryan's Take

Stories like this one are hard to read. As a Las Vegas agent, I talk with buyers about kitchens, HOA rules and school boundaries. I think the road outside the neighborhood deserves a few minutes of that conversation too. Not because any part of town is good or bad, but because how you get around shapes your daily life.

So here is what I would suggest if you are looking at homes. Visit twice, once in the daytime and once after dark. Walk the actual route to the bus stop, the park or the school. Look at where the lights are, where the crosswalks are, and how fast traffic is moving. Those are facts you can see for yourself, and they will tell you more than a listing ever could.

If you already own a home, this is something your neighbors can act on together. If your HOA or neighborhood group has a shared chat or newsletter, post the link for reporting broken streetlights. It takes a couple of minutes, and it is one of the few parts of this problem a regular person can move forward today.

I do not have data showing how these nine streets affect home values, so I will not pretend to. What I can tell you is that a real plan for lights and safer crossings makes a place better for the people who already live there. That is worth showing up for.

Man standing on a street corner beside a signal pole, waiting at a marked crosswalk

What You Can Do

A few small habits matter most right now:

If you drive: Slow down, especially on 45 mph roads after sunset. Put the phone away. Nevada law says you must yield to a person in a crosswalk when there is no working signal. It also says that if a car ahead of you has stopped at a crosswalk, you cannot pass it until you know it did not stop for someone crossing.
If you walk: Use a marked crossing when you can, wear something bright or reflective, and keep your phone in your pocket as you cross. Do not assume a driver can see you.
If you have kids: Talk through the route home now that it gets dark earlier. Police gave families simple advice ahead of Halloween that works all winter: bright clothes, a flashlight or glow stick, and phones away when crossing.
If you see a dark street: Report it. In unincorporated Clark County, use FixIt Clark County or call 702-455-6000. In the City of Las Vegas, call 702-229-6331. If you ever see wire being stolen from a streetlight, the county says to call 911.
If you want to help: Ped Safe Vegas takes questions at info@pedsafe.vegas. It also offers safety classes, including classes for older drivers, and works with schools and city planners.
If you want permanent fixes: Tell your county commissioner or city council member which crossing worries you and why. A specific location is easier to act on than a general complaint.

And if you pass a white chalk outline on your way home this week, take your foot off the gas for a moment. That is exactly what it is there for.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime. Ryan Rose | Real Broker, LLC | ryan@rosehomeslv.com | rosehomeslv.com