A man was sentenced to prison on Monday for killing an off-duty Euless detective and critically injuring the detective’s family in a drunk driving incident in Lake Worth more than a year ago.
Dylan Molina, 27, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for causing the death of Alejandro “Alex” Cervantes and critically injuring his wife and two sons.
Molina took a plea deal for intoxication manslaughter and was given 15 years. He was also given 10 years for each intoxication assault charge.
The sentences will run concurrently, meaning Molina will serve them all at the same time.
While in court, Cervantes’ 13-year-old son Josh Rojas took the stand to express how he felt to Molina.
“I no longer have a dad to come home to,” said Rojas, according to WFAA. “I wish you weren’t in this position right now. You look like a nice guy that wouldn’t do this.”
Cervantes’ wife Priscilla also took the stand. She was in a month-long coma after the crash and received the news of her husband’s death the day she awoke.
“The person I was supposed to grow old with and spend the rest of my life with, you took that away from me that day,” she said.
“The men and women of the Lake Worth Police Department grieve for the Cervantes family and the Euless Police Department, understanding today’s plea will never replace Alex,” J.T. Manoushagian, police chief of the Lake Worth Police Department, said in a statement.
On November 27, 2021, Molina ran a red light and slammed into Cervantes and his family at the intersection of Boat Club Road and Rock Point Trail, according to Lake Worth Police.
Just before the crash, Molina had been drinking at a Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. He had also been involved in multiple minor accidents in the moments leading up to the crash with Cervantes, police say.
Emma Dugas, the State Program Coordinator for Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), spoke to The Dallas Express about what her organization is doing to help combat situations like this.
“This is a 100% preventable violent crime,” Dugas told The Dallas Express.
“There’s so many options out there that we have that can get us home safe if alcohol is in our plans, and so we encourage the community to always plan ahead and have that nondrinking sober driver get them home safely.
“This is such a tragedy that this has happened, and it’s just sad because it’s so preventable,” Dugas reiterated.
This is not the first time a police department has lost an officer to an intoxicated driver. A Dallas police officer was killed by a drunk driver in February 2021, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Officer Mitchell Penton, 28, was struck and killed by a drunk driver while directing traffic at U.S. 75 near Walnut Hill Lane.
Last October, Dallas police officer Jacob Arrellano died on his way to work when an intoxicated wrong-way driver crashed into his SUV.
The Dallas Police Department logged 1,234 arrests for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol from January 2022 through mid-November 2022, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.
The sheer number reflects a broader trend of lawlessness and rising crime rates in Dallas, which the city council has been unable to quell.
Note: This article was updated on Monday, February 13, 2023, to include additional information.
