SAN LEANDRO – An emergency services dispatcher was hit and killed by a suspected drunk driver while on her way to work Sunday night in San Leandro, according to authorities.
Antoinette Finau, a dispatcher with the sheriff’s office for almost three years, died at a hospital.
The two-vehicle collision happened around 11:15 p.m. at the intersection of East 14th Street and 150th Avenue, the San Leandro Police Department said in a news release.
Finau was on her way to work when the crash happened, according to police. An investigation revealed her car was broadsided and rolled over as she went through the intersection.
The sheriff’s office said in a social media posting that it had “lost a dedicated, energetic, loving” member of the department who “loved being a dispatcher” and “took pride in her work because helping others gave her great joy.”
“We will remember Antoinette as someone who lived her life to the fullest and touched the hearts of those around her,” her sheriff’s office colleagues said in the post. “Though her time with us was short, Antoinette impacted our agency with her sweet nature, kind heart, warm smile and pride in being the voice on the other end of a call for help. She was a loving mother, a sister, a daughter, and a friend to many. Rest well Antoinette. We will miss you.”
The driver of the second vehicle, a 32-year-old woman, was not injured in the crash. She was booked at Santa Rita Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury.
In a statement, Lt. Jeffrey Walton of the San Leandro Police Department said the force “offers our condolences to the family of the victim as well as the men and women of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. This is a tragic loss of life and a painful reminder of the dangers of driving while impaired.”
