Construction worker dies in gas line rupture
A construction worker was killed Thursday afternoon when a backhoe tractor ruptured a gas line, North Las Vegas police said.
The accident occurred on vacant land near the intersection of North Fifth Street and Deer Springs Way about 1:20 p.m., said Mark Hoyt, spokesman with North Las Vegas police. Hoyt said he did not know exactly how the construction worker was killed or the age of the worker.
There were reports that the man who died was severely burned, but authorities said they could not confirm that.
Hoyt said two other construction workers suffered minor injuries. Hoyt said he didn’t know what the construction workers were doing at the lot, but he said they might have been there to widen North Fifth Street.
The accident happened near Legacy High School which was just west of the intersection. Hoyt said that officials with the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration would be investigating the accident.
Steve Coffield, active chief administrator for the state OSHA office, refused to provide any information about the incident Thursday. The agency doesn’t provide information to the public about such cases until the investigations are completed.
North Las Vegas police were dispatched to the accident to ensure that the public was safe, Hoyt said. Hoyt said the gas leak caused a brief fire, but nobody from nearby neighborhoods had to be evacuated.
Cynthia Messina, a spokeswoman with Southwest Gas Corp., said the gas line that was damaged is a Southwest Gas line. Gas service to the surrounding area was not affected, she said.
She said workers from Tejas Underground, a contractor with offices in North Las Vegas, were digging trenches on the vacant land to lay utility lines Thursday.
The general manager of Tejas Underground, Greg Walker, and the general superintendent, Dave Hacker, did not return calls seeking comment.
Messina said she did not know whether the workers were widening or extending North Fifth Street or doing the groundwork for a private development. Messina said she also didn’t know whether any safety procedures were violated that might have caused the accident.
Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-4638.
