SPARKS — On Wednesday just before 10 p.m., an on-duty Nevada Highway Patrol trooper was driving his marked patrol unit northbound on East McCarran Boulevard, just north of Victorian Avenue. Two men attempted to run across the multiple-lane boulevard in an area with very little artificial illumination and not in a marked crosswalk. The trooper, a 10-year veteran of the NHP, applied the brakes of his agency-assigned 2006 Ford Crown Victoria. The right front portion of his vehicle struck 50-year-old William H. Thompson of Sebastian, Ark.  

Thompson was transported by REMSA ambulance to Renown Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and released for minor injuries. The trooper was not injured nor was the other pedestrian.

Both pedestrians were extremely intoxicated at the time of the accident. The second pedestrian was identified at the scene as L.A. Cox, 45, of Reno. The Nevada Highway Patrol’s Major Accident Investigation Team will complete the accident investigation. The trooper has not been placed on any type of administrative leave and any applicable charges will be filed at the time the investigation is completed.

Witnesses to the event may contact Trooper Robert Haigney at 689-4682 regarding case No. NHP-1008112052.