OXNARD : Driver Pleads Guilty in Death of Man, 52

A 23-year-old Oxnard man pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a charge of felony vehicular manslaughter in connection with the death of a government employee, who was struck and killed as he rode his motor scooter to work.

Sabino S. Olivera faces up to 10 years in prison for the death of William Jerry Blue, an 18-year federal government worker and a father of three. Olivera’s plea came just as he was set to go to trial.

Blue, a 52-year-old, oil-platform inspector from Ojai, was on his way home from his job when Olivera struck and killed him on Vineyard Avenue near Central Avenue last September. Police said Olivera was driving drunk.

For Blue’s widow, Gayle, 49, Olivera’s plea spared her the agony of having to relive the events surrounding the death of her husband, who rode his scooter to work daily.

“He’s been riding that scooter since he was 15,” she said. “His office was in Camarillo, and he would go the back way, thinking that would be safer. He would never get on the highway.”

According to court records, Blue was struck from behind by Olivera’s pickup truck at 4:40 p.m. Deputy Dist. Atty. Stacy A. Ratner said the defendant was driving 70 m.p.h., had crossed over double yellow lines and tailgated another vehicle.

Olivera is being held in the Ventura County Jail pending sentencing March 23.