Fiancee sues over Las Vegas man’s death at construction site

The fiancee of a Las Vegas man filed a wrongful death lawsuit last month after the man died from a fall at a construction site.

On Aug. 31, Vincent Torres was working as a subcontractor on a project on a site owned or managed by the Las Vegas Valley Water District. The Howard Hughes Company was listed as the developer of the project, according to the complaint filed on Oct. 20 in Clark County District Court.

Torres, 31, fell through scaffolding and suffered serious injuries.

He died 26 days later, on Sept. 25, from blunt trauma. The Clark County coroner’s office ruled his death an accident.

“He always had the brightest smile on his face that nobody could ignore,” an online obituary read. “He had this infectious laugh that could be heard a mile away and that brought so much joy to so many people’s hearts. He never wanted to see anyone discouraged or alone.”

The suit alleges that the defendants were negligent.

“Defendants did not have any personnel overseeing construction on a reasonably frequent basis throughout construction, and other construction accidents and/or ‘near-misses’ had already occurred prior to Vincent’s death without any response by defendants to ensure future accidents would not occur,” the complaint states.

The defendants include the Howard Hughes Company LLC, J.A. Tiberti Construction Co. and the Las Vegas Valley Water District. The water district and the construction company declined to comment, according to representatives. Howard Hughes Company could not be reached for comment.

Torres had a 9-month-old child at the time of his death. The child’s mother and Torres’ fiancee, Lizeth Garibay, is listed as the plaintiff.

In May 2020, Torres was honored by the city of North Las Vegas with a medal for helping Jose Alvarado pull a man out of a burning home.

Torres was fixing a light in front of his mother’s house across the street from the 600 block of Glendale Avenue when he heard people yelling. Torres and Alvarado saw a disabled man lying on the floor of a burning home and were able to pull the man out of the home, according to North Las Vegas Fire Department Chief Joseph Calhoun.

“Their brave actions and compassion for human life reduced the severity of the victim’s injuries and ultimately saved his life,” Calhoun said at a ceremony. “I am grateful these two men were nearby to help.”

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.