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NHP honors Troopers of the Year Two troopers were designated Troopers of the Year by the Nevada Highway Patrol during an employee awards ceremony Tuesday in Reno. Luis Ayala-Zapata and Doug Kassebaum were honored for their work in 2003. On July 5, Kassebaum, a Yerington-based trooper, was the first to arrive to a fatality accident on U.S. 95A near Silver Springs. A suspected drunken driver struck head-on the vehicle of 54-year-old Lyle Lockhart of Silver Springs. The man’s vehicle was engulfed in flames and attached to Lockhart’s vehicle. While the suspected drunken driver died on scene, flames rapidly were spreading to Lockhart’s vehicle. The trooper tried to pull out Lockhart, pinned in the driver’s seat, but couldn’t. Kassebaum’s fire extinguisher could not douse the flames. Kassebaum threw dirt from the side of the road for 13 minutes to keep the flames at bay until volunteer firefighters arrived and extricated Lockhart. NHP officials honored Ayala-Zapata for his high productivity level in traffic enforcement and excellent report writing. He is active in community programs, especially in the Hispanic community. Ayala-Zapata, based in Reno, also translates for other local law enforcement agencies. When U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., visits the area, NHP officials said he always requests that Ayala-Zapata be his driver. Other employees honored were: Maria Maiden, Dispatcher of the Year; Tina Stout, Employee of the Year and Sgt. Scott Swain, Sergeant of the Year. Employees were nominated by their supervisors and selected by a committee.
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