Public Safety · East Las Vegas
Clark County woman sues NV Energy, saying falling utility poles trapped her car on Tropicana for seven hours
A negligence lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court claims utility poles toppled onto a driver's car during a July 2025 dust storm on East Tropicana Avenue. It questions how NV Energy maintained the poles.
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What happened
A Clark County woman has sued NV Energy for negligence, saying downed utility poles and live power cables trapped her inside her car for seven hours, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Kirstin Rachelle Parker filed the lawsuit in Clark County District Court on Tuesday.
According to the suit, the poles fell in a "domino-like fashion" around her vehicle. The Review-Journal reported that the incident appears to have taken place during a dust storm that hit the Las Vegas area in July 2025.
The July 2025 dust storm
Poles down across the valley
The storm brought 70 mph winds to the region, according to the Review-Journal. It knocked down roughly 70 wooden utility poles across the Las Vegas Valley, and part of Tropicana Avenue took the worst of the damage.
Tropicana Avenue closure
A 1.4-mile stretch of East Tropicana Avenue between South Eastern Avenue and South Sandhill Road was closed after the storm, the newspaper reported. That stretch includes the location described in the lawsuit. The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to the Review-Journal that officers responded to the area that day to help with traffic control and other emergency services.
What the lawsuit claims
The plaintiff's account
The suit says Parker was driving on East Tropicana Avenue past South Pearl Street on July 1, 2025, when utility poles "began to fall in a cascading, domino-like fashion behind her." She tried to speed away, according to the filing. A utility pole and live power cables still landed directly on her car.
The lawsuit states the cables surrounded the vehicle and kept her from getting out safely. She waited seven hours for the live lines around her car to be cut, according to the suit as described by the Review-Journal.
Negligence allegations
The complaint accuses NV Energy of failing to "design, install, inspect, repair, and/or maintain the subject utility poles in a reasonable and safe manner," the Review-Journal reported. The suit seeks damages. The newspaper's report did not give a specific dollar amount.
These are allegations in a civil complaint and have not been decided by a court. The Review-Journal's report did not include a response from NV Energy.
Why it matters for residents
The case centers on claims about how NV Energy designed, installed, inspected, repaired and maintained wooden utility poles. According to the Review-Journal, the July 2025 storm downed roughly 70 of those poles across the Las Vegas Valley and led to the closure of a 1.4-mile section of East Tropicana Avenue.
The lawsuit asks a court to weigh whether the utility's upkeep of the poles was reasonable and safe. Readers can follow related coverage on our public safety page and find more local news by area on our neighborhoods page.
What to watch next
- How NV Energy responds to the negligence lawsuit filed in Clark County District Court.
- Whether the case moves forward on the claim that the utility failed to design, install, inspect, repair or maintain the poles safely.
- What damages are sought, since the suit seeks damages but the reported filing did not list an amount.
