Las Vegas, NV : 1 dead, 1 injured in a deadly motorcycle crash on Blue Diamond Road near State Route 159 on Friday afternoon, December 19, 2014

A deadly motorcycle crash on Blue Diamond Road near State Route 159 affected traffic Friday afternoon. Nevada Highway Patrol said a pickup truck and seven motorcycles were involved in the crash and at least one person died. Another person was taken by helicopter to UMC and suffered critical injuries. Friends say Kevin Rubio lost his life in the crash. AJ Childs said he met Rubio because they both were apart of a local ride club. “Everyone in the group is very sad,” Childs said. “We're going to be mourning him for a while. Troopers said it looks like the crash occurred when two motorcyclist tried to pass an RV on Blue Diamond Road. The motorcyclist apparently split and tried to pass with one on each side of the RV. Then the five other motorcyclist behind the first two followed suit, according to NHP, but the two motorcyclist who started passing first -- slowed down. "The other ones not having a clear view of what the original bikes were doing once they passed, that's where we had this chain reaction," Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Loy Hixson said. The last motorcyclist approaching tried to avoid the crash and slid off of the road, NHP said. At this time the crash remains under investigation, but it does look like speed and reckless driving played a factor, according to troopers. Hixson said NHP consistently gets calls about reckless riding on the roads, and he said this year motorcycle deaths are up. “A little minor error, minor decision, a mistake, and of course, we see these bikes that are going down and the tragedies that are occurring,” Trooper Hixson said. The accident caused the area to be closed for hours, and the only way drivers were able to get by was by driving on the shoulder. The roadway was shutdown until about 5 p.m. The names of the other victims weren't released by NHP. Source : Crash on SR 160 involved 7 motorcycles: 1 dead, 1 critical