Florida: Nassau County deputy dies after being hit by a car during foot chase

Nassau County Sheriff's Office Deputy Eric Oliver was struck and killed by a vehicle on State Road 200 in Yulee while in the line of duty Tuesday morning.The man he was chasing fled police for several hours but was captured before 7 p.m. in Jacksonville, multiple police sources tell First Coast News. Sheriff Bill Leeper paused with emotion as he explained how Oliver, 32, a 7-year veteran of the force, was hit by a vehicle while he was in pursuit of man fleeing the traffic stop. Oliver was pronounced dead on scene. A U.S. Border Patrol Agent was with two deputies at the Gate Gas Station on S.R. 200 near Chester Road who were interviewing six people in a pick-up truck after what Border Patrol calls a chance encounter.

One of the six people in the truck fled on foot and two deputies chased after him across S.R. 200. One deputy made it to the median but Oliver was struck by a vehicle. Leeper said the woman who was driving the vehicle that struck Oliver stayed on the scene and cooperated with authorities.

Todd Bryant, the Division Chief of the Miami Sector for the U.S. Border Patrol, issued a statement saying at least three of the occupants in the pick-up truck were "citizens or nationals of a foreign country and did not have authorization to be present or reside in the United States."

The Border Patrol Agent on scene put the three into his vehicle and arrested them. One person in the pickup took off in the vehicle after the Border Patrol agent left the vehicle to attend to Oliver after he was struck. That person and the other have since been taken into custody.

Leeper called the man who fled on a foot a suspect in the traffic stop. Leeper said that he spoke with Oliver's wife and said that Oliver "died doing what he wanted to do. He dedicated his life to protecting the county." Leeper said Oliver would be sorely missed. Oliver and his wife have a 6-year-old daughter.