NV Energy worker who died in fall was a day short of 30, about to wed
Herbie Goforth was one day from his birthday and about a week from his wedding.
But the young NV Energy worker, who recently had completed his apprenticeship to become a journeyman lineman, will never celebrate either of those occasions.
Herbie Dempsey Goforth III, of Las Vegas, died Tuesday after falling about a 100 feet from a utility tower near the Apex Industrial Park in the northeast valley. He would have been 30 Wednesday.
Goforth's mother couldn't talk about the accident and burst into tears while trying to speak about her son Wednesday. According to friends posting on Facebook, Goforth was going to marry fiancee Judith Greene Oct. 6.
"I just can't right now," said Rosa Goforth before passing the phone to her sister, who said the family is in mourning.
According to Goforth's Facebook page, he graduated from UNLV in 2007 and attended Cimarron Memorial High School.
Friends and co-workers began posting social media messages about Goforth late Wednesday.
"I'm a better man because I knew Herbie Goforth," co-worker John Demes wrote. "Herbie was an educated man and could of chosen a different line of work but he wanted to be journeyman lineman with all his heart."
On a Facebook page for local linemen, a friend posted a picture of about a dozen NV Energy work trucks with their cherry pickers raised in salute.
"Happy birthday. This is as close to u up In heaven that we could reach," the caption read.
The accident remained under investigation Wednesday, and neither company officials nor federal investigators would say much.
NV Energy spokeswoman Jennifer Schuricht declined to discuss safety protocols for linemen.
"Safety is part of our core values," she said. "It's just too soon."
NV Energy released a statement Tuesday saying:
"Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of one of our NV Energy family members today. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues."
Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators were at the site of the fall.
An investigation could take as long as six months.
Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.
