YULEE, Fla. – The Rotary Club of Fernandina Beach hosted a charity barbecue Fundraiser on Saturday for the 6-year-old daughter of fallen Nassau County Deputy Eric Oliver.
Oliver, 32, died on Nov. 22 after he was hit by an SUV while chasing undocumented worker Francisco Obbidio Portillo-Fuentes, 25, across State Road 200.
The fundraiser for Oliver's daughter, Shelby, was a way for the community to show their love to a little girl who is going to go through Christmas without her father for the first time.
“Seeing the loss that little girl has gone through has really driven me to want to do something and I just feel horrible for the family and what they've gone through,” organizer Ron Heymann said. “It's just about being a part of the community, really. To have such a terrible event take place, a lot of us just wanted to give back and show we care.”
Deputies and fire rescue officials, along with community members, came to the fundraiser to support Oliver's family.
“Eric's father was out here earlier and just came by to talk with us -- the sunglasses had to come on. It was really tough,” Heymann said. “He just said, 'Thank you.' I can't imagine what he's feeling at this time of year. That kind of loss, it's just beyond words.”
The barbecue meal was free and the Rotary Club just accepted donations, with 100 percent of the proceeds being donated to Shelby.
The Eric James Oliver Memorial Trust has been set up at First Federal Bank of Florida. All donations will go into a trust for Shelby Oliver.