LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The family of Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Det. Justin Terry is suing companies whose actions they allege led to Terry's death.
On June 10, 2022, Terry was killed after a metal beam fell onto his vehicle on U.S. 95 near the Centennial Bowl construction project.
The complaint says it was due to a tractor-trailer ahead of him, which was carrying a large tanker truck and backhoe loader. Part of the backhoe hit the beam, causing it to dislodge and fall.
Terry was laid to rest10 days later. He was 45 years old and left behind a wife and two sons.
At the time, Terry was assigned to the sex crimes bureau and had started a program at the Southeast Area Command to help reach homeless individuals in remote areas.
According to the complaint, attorneys said the Las Vegas Paving Company, which served as a general contractor on the site, didn't provide sufficient warnings to roadway users and were negligent in making and placing the metal beam that killed Terry.
The complaint also states the tractor-trailer driver, Glen Joseph Lewis, wasn't operating the vehicle in a reasonable, safe manner and the company he works for, Western States Contracting, overloaded the trailer above the height limit for the vehicle.
Attorneys for the family are seeking more than $15,000 in general and punitive damages, as well as attorneys' fees.
We reached out to the Las Vegas Paving Company. A spokesperson told Channel 13 they do not comment on pending legal matters.
