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SAN LEANDRO, Calif. – The family of an Alameda County 911 dispatcher, who was killed in a DUI crash, is struggling to make sense of their loss. Despite their heartache, they expressed that they weren’t harboring anger towards the suspect.
“Her voice, her laughter, her outlook,” Teri Gudino, the mother of 37-year-old Antoinette Finau, her voice shaking as she described what she would miss most.
Manu Finau said his granddaughter, 11-year-old Aliyana, is trying to come to terms with the tragedy that happened right before Mother’s Day.
“She’s going through the motions of expecting a text, expecting her mom to call,” he said.
The crash happened on Sunday at around 11:15 p.m. at the intersection of East 14th Street and 150th Avenue in San Leandro.
Finau’s Honda Civic was broadsided by an alleged drunk driver who ran a red light, according to San Leandro police.
The wreck happened just blocks from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center where she worked. Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene first.
“One of our deputies recognized right away it was one of our own,” said Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez.
Sanchez said Finau was a single mother and team player.
“Antoinette got into her car, left her family, and was ready to go to work. She was coming to work on an overtime shift after she had already completed her regular hour shift because she’s that person,” Sanchez said.
Just last month, Finau appeared in a video posted by the sheriff’s office honoring dispatchers.
“Knowing when they call 911 because they’re having an emergency, that I get to be the voice that makes sure they get the assistance that they need, it’s definitely rewarding and so fulfilling at the end of the day, it’s a blessing to be here,” she said.
Her family says Finau was the problem-solver with the gift of gab, a valuable asset for a dispatcher.
“She was someone that all of us could have called when we had a problem, so the fact that she’s actually the 911 person answering the phone, it’s perfect. It was the perfect job for her,” said her brother Sione Finau.
Finau died at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where family and law enforcement paid tribute as her flag-draped casket was wheeled out of the hospital.
A procession escorted her body to the coroner’s bureau in Oakland.
A flag was flown at half-staff at Eden Township sheriff’s substation in San Leandro.
KTVU has learned the suspect is Lynette Davis, 32. She was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and DUI.
“It’s hard to swallow that she’s gone, but I wouldn’t wish ill will on anybody,” Sione Finau said.
A fund has been established to support Antoinette Finau’s family.
Donations can be sent to the Police Credit Union, DSA of Alameda County Sheriff’s Charitable Foundation, in memory of Antoinette Finau, account number 13873501008, 2550 Irving St., San Francisco CA 94122.
Henry Lee is a KTVU crime reporter. E-mail Henry at Henry.Lee@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @henrykleeKTVU and www.facebook.com/henrykleefan.
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