‘The Best of Us’: East Bay 911 dispatcher killed by suspected drunk driver grieves

Amy Larson and Tiffany Justice

12 minutes ago

Antoinette Finau (Image courtesy of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office)

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. (KRON) – Officials with the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office are mourning the loss of Antoinette Finau, a 911 operator who was killed two days ago by a suspected drunk driver.

Finau worked as an emergency dispatcher for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office. “She was a force. She was described as the best of us, and now the best of us is gone,” ACSO Captain Tya Modeste told KRON4 on Tuesday.

Finau leaves behind her little daughter.

On Cinco de Mayo, the dispatcher was on her way to work, ready to help others in emergencies. Finau was driving through San Leandro when her vehicle was suddenly rammed onto its side by a drunk driver at the intersection of East 14th Street and 150th Avenue, according to police.

Finau was known by her colleagues as a cheerful and hard-working person in the dispatch center. Modeste told KRON4, “She loved being the person who answered those calls for help or cries for help – she was just very proud of it.”

Finau had already worked a full shift on Sunday and left work at 7 p.m. Shortly after 11 p.m., she headed back to work and worked a double shift.

But Finau never made it.

The dispatcher suffered fatal injuries as a result of the force of the collision. The sheriff’s captain said, “Our dispatcher needed additional help and she agreed to come back. So she was on her way back to work and only made it about three blocks from our shipping bunker.”

Finau grew up in the Oakland and San Leandro area. She was highlighted in a social media video posted by the sheriff’s office just two weeks ago for National Public Safety Week. In the video, the dispatcher talks about how much she loves her daughter, nieces and nephews. “They are the best part of life,” Finau said.

In the video, she said a special memory happened two years ago when she took her daughter to Hawaii for a family beach vacation.

The driver whose vehicle crashed into Finau was a 32-year-old woman. The uninjured woman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence before being taken to prison. The driver’s name has not been released by law enforcement.

The sheriff’s office wrote: “We have lost a dedicated, energetic and loving Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) family member. Helping others gave her great joy. Antoinette has left her mark on our agency with her kind nature, her kind heart, her warm smile and her pride in being the voice on the other end of a cry for help. Antoinette died a senseless and tragic death at the hands of a drunk driver.”

San Leandro police are still investigating the fatal accident.