Nevada’s DUI blitz, in memory of two fallen troopers, targets impaired driving

Since the death of her husband, Nevada Highway Patrol trooper Alberto Felix, Arlene Felix hasn’t spent much time talking publicly about the tragedy.

Saturday evening, however, she had something to say, almost two years to the day after Trooper Felix was hit and killed by a drunk driver, during a Highway Patrol press conference at its Las Vegas headquarters near Harry Reid International Airport to kick off the agency’s annual “DUI blitz” to honor Felix and his partner, Sgt. Michael Abbate.

Trooper Felix’s widow made her comments to a room full of troopers and other law enforcement officers before they embarked on the multi-agency 10-hour blitz into the Sunday morning hours.

“Last year, I didn’t have the courage to speak,” Arlene Felix said. “It’s still very hard. My family knows what your job can cause. Because of this, nights like this mean even more to us. When you’re out on a DUI blitz, you’re not just making stops and writing tickets, you are actually rewriting the ending to other potentially tragic stories.”

Second annual blitz

This year marks the second time the blitz has been held in honor of Felix and Abbate. The pair stopped to help a motorist during the early morning hours of Nov. 30, 2023, on the side of Interstate 15 near D Street before a driver, later identified as Jemarcus Williams, fatally struck them. Felix was 54, Abbate was 37.

While reciting her partially prepared words, Arlene Felix became emotional at times. She was flanked by her oldest daughter, Alyssa Belle Felix, and Sgt. Abbate’s mother and sister.

“What you’re doing matters,” she said. “It matters to me, it matters to my children and to the people you have saved from heartbreak. You guys are so brave. I could never do what you guys are out here doing every day.”

Highway Patrol Major Kevin Honea said after the press conference that he didn’t know Arlene Felix had plans to speak.

“We just don’t want any other families to have to experience what they’ve had to experience,” Honea said. “We remain very close to those families and it was wonderful to see Arlene get up and talk because, for years, she hasn’t been able to. I know she appreciates the fact that we’ve kept Alberto and Mike in the forefront of our thoughts and enforcement activities. I know it means the world to her.”

Alberto Felix became a trooper at age 50 after serving in the U.S. Air Force. He and Abbate had stopped just after 3 a.m. that morning to check on a Jeep that was parked on an off-ramp with Guillermo Pacheco asleep behind the wheel, according to a Metropolitan Police Department report.

Pacheco was later charged pleaded no contest to DUI and spent 10 days in jail.

In April 2024, Williams pleaded guilty to two counts of DUI resulting in death.He received the maximum sentence of 16 to 40 years in prison.

‘It’s just not worth it’

During last year’s blitz, which includes law enforcement agencies across the state, over 30 suspected impaired drivers were arrested. The blitz was set to go from about 7 p.m. on Saturday until about 5 a.m. on Sunday, said trooper Shawn Haggstrom.

“The goal is simply to do a high frequency of traffic stops,” Honea said. “The message is simple — if you have anything to drink, there are too many ways for you to get home safely now. There’s Uber and Lyft and taxis and designated drivers, so it’s just not worth it.”

Minutes after the end of the press conference Saturday night, police vehicles and a white Metro van with the words “DUI Investigations” on its side were seen next to a car that had been stopped along Sunset Road near South Eastern Avenue. Police took one man into custody.

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X. Review-Journal Photo Editor Liv Paggiarino contributed to this report.