Funeral set for Las Vegas policeman killed by a falling beam

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A funeral service is scheduled Monday in Henderson for a Las Vegas police detective who was killed when a steel beam fell onto his vehicle in a construction zone.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police officials said 45-year-old Justin Terry was in his unmarked police vehicle and on duty when the beam fell last Friday on U.S. Highway 95.

Authorities said he died at the scene.

According to Metro Police, Terry was with the police department for almost 21 years and is survived by a wife and two sons.

The Nevada Highway Patrol said a tractor trailer hauling an excavator with an oversized load struck the beam, causing it to fall.

The large steal beam is perched 15 feet above the highway and alerts drivers to low clearances due to bridge construction ahead, according to the state Department of Transportation.

Authorities told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that an investigation into the crash is focused on whether the tractor trailer was properly permitted to carry an oversized load through the area of the construction project.

Investigators also were trying to determine whether the beam was properly installed as part of a low clearance highway warning system.