Injured Carson City lieutenant improving

A Carson City Sheriff's lieutenant remained in a drug-induced coma Friday, but is steadily improving from injuries suffered in an off-duty accident Jan. 15.

Luanne Penegor said her husband, Wade, was opening his eyes and moving his arms and legs, giving herself and doctors hope that the strong-minded veteran police officer will pull through.

"For me, it's a really good sign for him to be doing that little stuff," Luanne said describing the progress as "baby steps."

"I really think everything is going to be OK."

Wade Penegor, 42, has been unconscious since he struck his head on the street after losing control of an all-terrain vehicle near his Washoe Valley home.

Doctors induced the coma to help with the brain-swelling brought on by the impact.

As the swelling has begun to subside, those coma-inducing medications have been reduced, Luanne said.

Because stimulation was detrimental to her husband's recovery, it wasn't until the decrease in the swelling that Luanne was able to speak to or touch him.

"Now when I sit with him I can hold his hand," she said.

What long-term effects the injury has on the well-respected officer remains to be seen.

A 13-year member of the Carson City Sheriff's Department, Penegor was named Supervisor of the Year for 2004.

In January 2003, he was promoted from sergeant to the rank of lieutenant and was given control of the city's 229-bed detention facility. He oversees a staff of 20 deputies, six supervisors, two cooks and five service technicians.

In October 2002, Penegor was one of more than a dozen officers who responded to a domestic dispute in which a man gunned down his girlfriend in her east Carson City garage.

Police tracked the man to the hills behind Edmonds Drive when the gunman opened fire with an AK-47 - first emptying the 50-round magazine of the assault rifle and then switching to a semi-automatic handgun.

Several deputies were pinned down in the barrage, but Penegor, able to return fire, struck the man at least three times, killing him.

An internal investigation cleared him of wrongdoing. The woman recovered from her injuries.

"There are a number of deputies who credit their lives today to Wade's actions," said Sheriff Kenny Furlong.

Wade and Luanne Penegor have two daughters, Jami, 10, and Jordan, 11.

Contact reporter F.T. Norton at ftnorton@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1213.