Euless detective’s widow sues taco shop, drunk driver, bartender for wrongful death

The widow of a North Texas police detective filed a lawsuit Thursday against Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, General Motors, the drunk driver who fatally crashed into her husband’s car, and the Fuzzy’s bartender accused of overserving the driver.

Dylan Molina, 27, was arrested in November 2021 for running a red light and hitting the off-duty Euless police officer’s car in Lake Worth. The collision resulted in Alejandro “Alex” Cervantes’ death and critically injured Cervantes’ wife, Priscilla Cervantes, and their two sons who were also in the car.

Test results showed that Molina had a blood alcohol level of 0.16, twice the Texas legal limit of 0.08, when he crashed his Jeep into the Cervantes family’s car on Nov. 27, 2021.

Cala Richardson, 26, who was a bartender at the Lake Worth Fuzzy’s Taco Shop, turned herself in to the Parker County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 3 after she was charged with overserving Molina.

Priscilla Cervantes is suing Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and its parent companies, the manager of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop at the time of the collision, General Motors, Molina, and Richardson for the wrongful death of Alex Cervantes, negligence, defective vehicle design, and the injuries sustained by Priscilla and her children, according to the lawsuit filed in Tarrant County District Court.

She is seeking monetary relief of over $1 million.

General Motors officials declined comment Friday. Officials with the corporate office of Fuzzy’s Taco Shop could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Fuzzy’s Taco Companies Employee Handbook had an “inadequate, defective and negligent” alcohol server policy, according to the lawsuit. The alcohol server policy and the employee handbook failed to require the server to be certified by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to sell and serve alcohol or require its employees to attend a commission-approved training program. The alcohol server policy provides that an intoxicated person should not be served, that any employee who willfully violates the policy will be terminated, and any employee who negligently served an intoxicated person will be counseled, according to the suit.

There is no evidence of termination or counseling of Richardson, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit further claims that Fuzzy Taco Companies failed to recognize an intoxicated person and were aware an intoxicated person could cause death and injuries, yet, continued to “directly and indirectly encourage their servers to violate the law.”

Fuzzy’s Taco Companies are liable for the wrongdoing of Richardson and the manager at the time Molina was overserved, the lawsuit states.

“The Cervantes family was shocked to learn that Fuzzy’s Taco Shop allowed an unlicensed bartender being supervised by an unlicensed manager to serve alcohol to such an obviously intoxicated person,” the family said in a statement provided by their attorney, Jim Zadeh.

Fuzzy’s Taco Companies violated the Texas Dram Shop Act by serving Molina when he “was obviously intoxicated to the extent he presented a clear danger to himself and others,” the suit says.

The lawsuit also alleges that Cervantes’ car — designed and manufactured by General Motors — had a “defective occupant restraint system” and “failed to protect him because it violated several crashworthiness principles.”

Molina failed to use “ordinary care by various acts and omissions,” including failing to control his rate of speed, disregarding a traffic signal, failing to keep a proper lookout, failing to make a timely application of brakes, failing to take proper evasive action, and failing to act as a reasonably prudent driver, according to the lawsuit.

Molina was indicted in February 2022 and pleaded guilty in January to intoxication manslaughter and three counts of intoxication assault. He was sentenced to 15 years on the manslaughter charge and 10 years each on assaults. The sentences will be served at the same time.

Priscilla Cervantes is also seeking recovery for the pain and suffering Alex Cervantes suffered from the moment of impact up to his death, severe personal injuries, and for the loss of companionship, affection, comfort and love that existed between herself, their sons and Alex Cervantes, according to the suit.

Priscilla Cervantes said she has suffered mental anguish as a result of Alex Cervantes’ wrongful death, and the reasonable probability that mental anguish will continue into the future.

She also is seeking recovery for funeral expenses and other monetary losses.

The lawsuit states their two sons suffered from physical pain, mental anguish and physical impairment, and Priscilla Cervantes is seeking recovery for future physical and mental pain and wage-earning losses.

Priscilla Cervantes is being represented by the Law Office of Jim Zadeh, P.C.

“The Cervantes family thanks all the first responders, good Samaritans, health care workers and law enforcement personnel who have provided them with amazing support throughout this terrible ordeal,” the family’s statement said.