Impaired driver who fatally struck two Nevada state troopers receives maximum prison sentence

The accident occurred on the morning of November 30 on a stretch of Interstate 15 near downtown Las Vegas. Trooper Alberto Felix and Sgt. Michael Abbate had stopped to check on a driver stopped on the highway when Williams hit them both and fled.

Williams, 46, eluded authorities for hours before police discovered the car he was driving at a nearby apartment complex, leading to his arrest. Williams has been in jail since the day of the accident.

At his sentencing, Alberto Felix's widow told a courtroom filled with relatives and uniformed law enforcement officers that her husband and Abbate “still have dreams, plans and a lot of life in them.

“They weren’t just police,” Arlene Felix said. “They had family, friends and colleagues who loved them.”

Abbate's mother said she was still dealing with the grief of losing her son, whose injuries were so severe the family had to hold a closed casket funeral.

“My heart hurts every second,” Judith Abbate said. “I'm half dead.”

Williams said before he was sentenced that he made the stupid decision to drive that morning, despite “all the many safe transportation options available.”

“I hate the stupid and ignorant decision I made, which ultimately had devastating and traumatic effects,” he said.

Sgt. Abbate joined the State Police in December 2013 and had recently been promoted to sergeant before his death. Alberto Felix joined the military in 2019 after serving in the US Air Force. Both men also left behind young sons.