‘My worst nightmare,’ says wife of killed Nevada trooper in memorial service

Sgt. Michael Abbate wasn’t just a Nevada state trooper. He was a husband, father, son, friend and gearhead who loved anything that involved a motor.

Abbate, who was one of two Nevada Highway Patrol troopers killed by a suspected drunken driver on Interstate 15 late last month, was remembered Monday in the second of two memorial services for the fallen troopers since Friday.

“We had 18 years of the deepest love, happiest marriage, and truest partnership that I could ever imagine,” Abbate’s wife, Vanessa, said at the service, which took place at Central Church in Henderson. “To know a life without him is my worst nightmare.”

Vanessa Abbate recalled meeting her future husband, whom she called the “biggest gearhead,” at the California Speedway in 2006 when she had gone to the track, not by choice, she said, to cheer on her brother.

Abbate, who had become an avid go-kart racer in childhood and whose love of racing was a major part of his life, was working as a mechanic for a race team.

‘In the blink of an eye, it was all taken away’

After marrying in 2016, the couple would ultimately have a son, who is now 3.

“We had a beautiful future ahead, with so many plans,” Vanessa Abbate said. “And in the blink of an eye, it was all taken away.”

Abbate, 37, and trooper Alberto Felix, 54, were struck and killed Nov. 30 while responding to a 3:23 a.m. call of a suspicious vehicle that was stopped on the D Street exit from northbound I-15, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Monday’s services started at 9:30 a.m., with a procession of police motorcycles and vehicles leaving a downtown Las Vegas funeral home and heading to the 10:30 a.m. memorial service at Central Church, a megachurch in Henderson.

‘The best of the best’

With its large parking lot and indoor capacity, Central Church has been the site of several police memorials in recent years, including trooper Felix’s service on Friday, slain Metro officer Truong Thai’s funeral in 2022, and others.

During Felix’s service on Friday, numerous speakers remembered Felix, including his eldest daughter Alyssa, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo and others including fellow troopers.

In Monday’s service, Central Church Pastor Michael Kitchen called Abbate “the best of the best” while Lombardo said Abbate led with “humility, courage and confidence.”

“As most of us slept safely at our homes, Sgt. Abbate was out protecting our community, bravely serving his fellow Nevadans when he made the ultimate sacrifice,” Lombardo said.

Several friends of Abbate also spoke.

Sgt. Jesse Winder, a Nevada Highway Patrol friend and colleague of Abbate, remembered working with Abbate on the graveyard shift when they first started out as troopers. They were coworkers who became friends.

“It was amazing to see him grow into such a loving father,” Winder said.

‘His ability to speak right to your heart’

Ross Jones, a friend of Abbate, first met Abbate in 2004 at UNLV.

“Right from the beginning Mike stood out, not just for his infectious sense of his humor, but for something deeper: his authenticity,” Jones said. “His ability to speak right to your heart, raw, uncut and without filter.”

Dan Nordwig first met Abbate when he was 17, he said.

“Mike was not always a police officer, and many of those stories are not appropriate to share today,” Nordwig said, hinting at the antics he and Abbate and other friends would get up to when they were younger.

In Friday’s service for trooper Felix, his eldest daughter, Alyssa, tearfully told the audience of hundreds that she couldn’t have asked for a better father.

“When he smiles, you could feel the love and comfort, and you just know that everything would be OK,” she said. “He just had this thing with him. I don’t know what it was, but this dad energy that just made you feel safe.”

A 46-year-old Las Vegas man was arrested in connection with the troopers’ deaths the same day they were killed. Jemarcus Williams is accused of being behind the wheel of a 2005 Chevrolet HHR that fatally struck Felix and Abbate.

In a court appearance the day after Williams’ arrest, a prosecutor said Williams had been “heavily intoxicated” at the Palms shortly before the crash.

Abbate’s metal Nevada State Police badge was found during a police search of the vehicle, Metro police have said.

Williams faces numerous charges including two counts each of DUI resulting in death and reckless driving resulting in death, court records show.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com.