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A memorial service was held Friday for Nevada Highway Patrol Soldier Micah May, who was killed last week in a law enforcement pursuit.
The 46-year-old father of two and 13-year-old Highway Patrol veteran died two days after being struck by a stolen car on July 27 during a chase on Interstate 15. He was attempting to deploy “sticks of” stop â€intended to puncture the tires of the stolen vehicle near Sahara Avenue, said the Highway Patrol.
A procession escorting May’s body from the Palm Mortuary at 1325 N. Main St. began at 9:30 am Friday. The memorial service began shortly at 11 a.m. at Henderson Central Church, located at 1001 New Beginnings Drive.
After the memorial service, a procession will lead to a public service at the Palm Mortuary Eastern Cemetery, 7600 S. Eastern Ave., the Highway Patrol said. Road closures will be in effect for the motorcade, which will run from Russell Road to US Highway 95, 215 Beltway and Eastern Avenue.
May’s wife and co-workers who spoke at a candlelight vigil on Tuesday night said he was a funny and loyal man who never struggled to talk to anyone.
According to a May obituary, the soldier grew up in the small town of Greenfield, Massachusetts, where he enjoyed the cold and sledding. In 2008, he “pursued his dream of becoming a police officer” and passed tests for the Highway Patrol, according to the obituary.
He met Joanna on Tropicana Avenue and on US Highway 95, “where he may or may not have stopped her for speeding,” the obituary reads. The couple had two young children, Raylan and Melody.
After May was shot on July 27, a Metropolitan Police Department helicopter transported him to the University Medical Center in critical condition. His wife said on Tuesday he saved four lives after his death through organ donation.
Ahead of the chase, a 911 caller told police a man pointed a foot-long knife at him, stole his car and rolled over his foot at a construction site near Sunset Road and Las Vegas Boulevard, police said.
The carjacker has been identified as Douglas Claiborne, 60.
Claiborne led the Highway Patrol soldiers in pursuit of him while driving erratically on the freeway, dodging six sets of stop sticks that had been deployed to slow him down, Las Vegas police said.
As May pulled out the seventh set of stopping sticks, Claiborne walked around them and hit May with the stolen car. He continued to drive for about a mile with May trapped in the vehicle’s windshield, police said.
Soldiers stopped Claiborne by crashing into his vehicle, and police shot him dead as he attempted to seize May’s gun, Las Vegas police said.
Data on file with the FBI shows May was the second Nevada soldier to die in the line of duty in nearly three decades. He was the 12th Nevada soldier to die in the line of duty in recorded history.
May is survived by his wife and two children; his parents, Edwin and Katherine; and his brothers, Seth and Paul, according to his obituary.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at [email protected] or 702-383-0240. To pursue @k_newberg on Twitter.
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