Motorcyclist killed after being struck by car

A 21-year-old motorcycle rider was killed Thursday night after being struck by a car in the southwest valley.

Las Vegas police said the collision happened just before midnight at Tropicana Avenue and Edmond Street, near Decatur Boulevard. The driver of a Nissan Maxima made a left-hand turn onto Tropicana and struck the Yamaha motorcycle, which exploded on impact, police said.

The motorcyclist, Jonathan Ramirez of Las Vegas, was a former Metropolitan Police Department Explorer, police said. Ramirez had aspirations of becoming a police officer but had “aged out” of the Explorer program.

Despite this, the rider was still active in the program and attended an Explorer meeting just hours before he was killed. He had started riding the motorcycle just a few days earlier.

The driver of the Nissan Maxima was Valentine Alejandro, 64, a limousine driver who had just ended his shift, police said. It did not appear that alcohol or speed was a factor.

This is the second Explorer to be killed while riding a motorcycle in the last two months.

Angel Velasquez, 18, was killed Aug. 1 when his motorcycle collided with a car in a hit-and-run.

Velasquez was riding his 2013 Honda east on Sahara Avenue near Van Patten Street about 7 p.m. when a 2013 Volkswagen turning west onto Sahara pulled into the intersection.

The Volkswagen driver, Jvon Williams, 29, was later arrested at his home after leaving the scene. He was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving charges.

Velasquez became a Explorer when he was 16 and planned to eventually join the department.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Follow @blasky on Twitter.