People living in a North Las Vegas neighborhood say they've been living next to a major danger for weeks now. Four storm drains were left wide open with no grates on top.
Larry Topliss brought the problem to our attention. Topliss is a retired attorney who owns a duplex in the area of Thomas Avenue and Wilkinson Way. He was checking on something at his property when a neighbor tenant approached him to show him the wide open drains.
"The first thing that comes to my mind is this is a lawsuit waiting to happen," said Topliss.
Topliss says a few weeks back, one of the residents called the city of North Las Vegas to tell them trash was covering the once existing grates and that was causing water to back up. The resident claims he watched a city employee come remove the trash and drop the grates into the holes.
That was three weeks ago. Ever since, residents have been steering clear of the holes in the ground.
The holes are about six feet deep and 18 inches in diameter. A child or a puppy could easily trip and fall in.
13 Action News reached out to the city of North Las Vegas. They were thankful we reached out and said it was the first time they were hearing about the problem.
A spokesperson with the city could not confirm that an employee dropped the grates in the holes. Instead, the spokesperson was able to tell us people have been stealing grates in North Las Vegas lately.
City crews put up barriers around the four uncovered holes Thursday. Those are temporary until new grates can be ordered and installed.
