Foundation pays off fallen Nevada law enforcement officers’ mortgages

A foundation that works to honor 9/11 victims and other first responders said Thursday it has paid off mortgage loans for the families of two fallen Nevada Highway Patrol officers.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation said it paid off the home loans for the families of Sgt. Michael Abbate and Trooper Alberto Felix.

The law enforcement officers were killed after being struck by a drunken driver along Interstate 15 in Las Vegas on Nov. 30, 2023.

In a statement, Vanessa Abbate, Sgt. Abbate’s widow, said her husband helped their Henderson home.

“After losing Michael, one of my biggest fears was losing this home we worked so hard for and put so much of ourselves into,” she said. “To have my son grow up in the home his daddy built with his own hands will forever be so special to us.”

Abbate’s son was 3 when his father was killed.

Felix’s widow, Arlene Felix, also a Henderson resident, said the impact of the gift will be felt by her and her three children in multiple ways.

“In the last couple of years, our family time has become limited with each other,” she said in a statement. “The family time we lost with Felix, we can never recover. But moving forward, Tunnel to Towers has given my children and I more time to be present in each other’s lives.”

The donations were offered through the foundation’s Fallen First Responder Home Program. The foundation was established to honor New York firefighter Stephen Siller, who lost his life on 9/11.

Jemarcus Williams was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty in April 2024 to two counts of DUI resulting in death.

At his sentencing last year, Williams said his decision to drive the day of the crime was a “stupid, ignorant decision.”

Abbate and Felix had stopped on northbound Interstate 15 near D Street to check on another motorist who police said had fallen asleep at the wheel before they were struck.

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.