North Las Vegas man killed in crash was ’amazing father’

Eduardo Valtierrez was a focused and kindhearted man who dedicated his life to providing for his 5-year-old daughter, a colleague said.

So much so, according to Gia Ruggiero, that the North Las Vegas man was always clocked in at 6 a.m. “on the dot,” ready to start the day.

At his work desk at the Allied Collections Services office, school pictures of his daughter, Kaylene, would stare back at him as he worked.

“You could tell his life revolved around providing for her and doing the best he can at 25 years old,” Ruggiero said.

But Valtierrez never showed up to work on Friday.

About 5:45 a.m., Metropolitan Police Department officers were notified of a crash involving a green Dodge Charger and a Chevrolet Express 2500 van on Durango Drive south of Soneto Lane. He was less than 2 miles from work, heading south on Durango, when his Dodge spun out into the northbound lanes, police said.

Valtierrez died at University Medical Center. He was 25.

Police do not believe impairment was a factor in the collision. It was not immediately clear what caused Valtierrez’s vehicle to rotate, but the crash occurred on wet roads caused by what the National Weather Service was calling “spotty showers” early Friday.

Ruggiero said she was on her way to work Friday and was rerouted by the police activity. As she was following the detour, she said, she immediately recognized his car.

“When I got to work, his car wasn’t there,” she recalled Saturday. “So I immediately broke down.”

The two had met in January when Ruggiero began working at Allied Collections Services, and had become close friends over the past year, bonding over their shared passion for cars.

“I wish his car was salvageable so I could try to rebuild it” for his daughter, she said.

“He was one of the most kindhearted people ever. He was very open and always there for you,” Ruggiero said. “He was just someone you wanted to have around, and he was an amazing father. I can’t emphasize that enough.”

Valtierrez’s manager, Aurora Lopez, has created a GoFundMe campaign on behalf of his family. The funds raised will go toward funeral costs and for his daughter.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.