NHP trooper not expected to survive following traffic accident

A wonderful person with a sense of humor is how colleagues are remembering an officer with the Nevada Highway Patrol who was injured in a car accident Monday night in Sparks.

Kara M. Kelly-Borgognone, 33, of Sparks was on life support late Tuesday and was not expected to survive from the injuries she suffered in the crash while responding to a bomb scare in Sparks, her family reported in a press release. She is an organ donor and doctors are working on organ donor suitability testing. This testing could take as long as two days as doctors try to find compatible matches.

Kelly-Borgognone was a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper for almost two years. She was traveling north on State Route 445 in her Ford Crown Victoria cruiser. When she approached the intersection of route 445 and Highland Ranch Parkway, her vehicle was struck in the left door by a silver Chevrolet SUV that had been traveling eastbound on Highland Ranch Parkway.

Sgt. James Richardson of the county's parole and probation department, who was Kelly-Borgognone's supervisor for six years, traveled to Reno on Tuesday morning to meet with her family.

"She brought a lot of passion and energy to the job," he said. "She was a wonderful person to work with and a loyal friend. This is a devastating loss to me because of the friendship."

Chief Juvenile Probation Officer De Vere Karlson, who was Kara's supervisor for almost three years, said the Nevada Highway trooper always wanted to further her career in law enforcement.

"She wanted to get more hands-on and get more involved in the (field). She was a thoroughly enjoyable young lady," she said.

At about 10 p.m. Monday, troopers from the Nevada Highway Patrol were responding to an emergency call on State Route 445 in an effort to assist the Washoe County Sheriff's Department.

Officers from the bomb squad had located and identified a suspicious package near the intersection of SR 445 and La Posada and requested assistance in stopping traffic from approaching the affected intersection.

The Washoe County Sheriff's Office is investigating the cause of the collision.

As soon as Rachel (Casey) Payne heard early Tuesday morning her best friend lay in critical condition at Renown Regional Medical Center, she hurried to Reno. Payne played summer and high school softball with Kelly-Borgognone.

"She was tough, extremely competitive, but she was extremely funny with a witty sense of humor," said Payne, who was also a 1992 Churchill County High School graduate with Kelly-Borgognone.

Payne and Kelly-Borgognone then took their game to the next level and played softball at Columbia College in Columbia, Mo.

"Her level of intensity in college was greater," Payne said. "She was even more competitive in college. She took her sports seriously."

That work ethic carried over to her career as a probation officer in Fallon and then Reno. Payne said Kelly-Borgognone took pride in her job.

While Payne remembers Kelly-Borgognone as tough, she also saw her teammate's softer side.

"She was very light-hearted and passionate," Payne said. "People remember her as stern as a juvenile probation officer, but she was still compassionate. She was funny, but she would also get fired up with a good cause."

Kelly-Borgognone held Columbia College's season RBI record for almost 15 years until it was broken several years ago.