By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
A former Del Rio sector Border Patrol agent who was killed in the line of duty has had a Rocksprings facility named in her honor.
On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed the Donna M. Doss Memorial Act, renaming the Rocksprings station after Doss, a Border Patrol agent who was killed when she was struck by a vehicle in 2019.
Congressman Tony Gonzales, a Republican who represents Del Rio in the House of Representatives and helped push the proposed legislation through the House, said the following: “Agent Doss embodied a life driven by public service and a commitment to her community, to Texas and to our country. Her death is a solemn reminder of the sacrifices our men and women in green – and their families – make every day. I am proud to have her legacy live on in our district by renaming the Rocksprings Border Patrol station in her honor.”
Senator John Cornyn, a Republican senator from Texas, who had been pushing the effort to rename the station for Doss for nearly two years, released the following statement: “Officers like Agent Doss who are lost in the line of duty remind us of the courageous sacrifices that law enforcement, and their families, make each day. Known for her commitment to public safety and her family, I’m proud to see that Agent Doss’ legacy of service to Texas will live on at the Border Patrol Station in Rocksprings in her honor.”
Doss, 49, was assigned to the Brackettville Border Patrol station, a station in the Del Rio sector, when she responded to a request for assistance from a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper at about 8:50 p.m. Feb. 2, 2019.
According to a Border Patrol release, after helping arrest a suspected undocumented immigrant, she was struck by a vehicle near Mile Marker 276 on Interstate 20 near Tye, Texas. She died on the scene.
Then Del Rio Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Matthew Hudak said he still remembers the phone call notifying him of Doss’s death.
“I remember feeling a sense of disbelief when I received the call about Donna’s passing. She was an outstanding agent and someone that quickly became friends with anyone she met. She never quit and she never let her fellow agents or colleagues down,” Hudak said. “She was an outstanding agent and an example for other agents to follow.”
“The memory and legacy of Border Patrol Agent Donna Doss will continue to live on. The momentous decision to rename the Rocksprings Station after Agent Doss, who paid the ultimate sacrifice for her country, will come to fruition,” said Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens, Del Rio sector chief, on his official Twitter account Thursday.
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Contact the author at joelalangton@gmail.com
