Dispatcher killed by alleged drunk driver

August 4, 2008 - 10:34 AM

Courtesy: Cameron County Sheriffs Dept
JOE OLGUIN

A Cameron County Sheriff's Department dispatcher has died from injuries he received in a motorcycle-vehicle accident.

Dispatcher Ernesto G. De La Fuente, 26, was riding his motorcycle to work Friday night when he was struck by an alleged drunk driver. The accident happened shortly before 11 p.m. on the 2100 block of Old Port Isabel Road in Brownsville.

De La Fuente was transported to the hospital where he later died, Sheriff Omar Lucio said.

"We were looking forward to him becoming one of our deputies in the future," Lucio said. "He did an outstanding job."

On Sunday, authorities charged 21-year old Jose Matias Olguin with intoxication manslaughter and possession of a controlled substance. Authorities believe it was cocaine. Olguin is being held at a Cameron County jail on bonds that total $165,000.

De La Fuente worked with the sheriff's department for three years.

For more on this story, read Tuesday's The Brownsville Herald.