Cervantes DUI
RIVERSIDE (CNS) – Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, was cited in Sacramento on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to a report published Tuesday.
Cervantes, 37, was driving Monday in downtown Sacramento when her car collided with another vehicle just blocks from the Capitol, a Sacramento Police Department spokesperson told the political news website Politico.
Cervantes was taken to a nearby hospital before officers arrived at the crash scene around 1:30 p.m. Monday, according to Officer Allison Smith, the department spokesperson. Police met Cervantes at a hospital, where they determined she was under the influence of alcohol, cited her with a misdemeanor and then released her, according to Politico.
Cervantes forcefully disputed the police account, stating the officers falsely accused her of driving under the influence.
“I want to be clear: I did nothing wrong,” Cervantes said in a statement late Tuesday. “The lab results I sought in the hospital show conclusively I had no alcohol in my system. I expect this to be quickly and justly resolved.”
In the statement, Cervantes said she was seeking care in the emergency room because her sedan was T-boned by a large SUV.
“I was accosted by Sacramento Police Department officers, [who] falsely accused {me] of driving under the influence, and involuntarily detained for several hours at the hospital,” Cervantes said.
A spokesperson for the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office did not respond to a question from Politico about whether Cervantes has been charged with a DUI.
Cervantes was elected in November to represent the 31st Senate District, which includes Jurupa Valley and portions of Corona, Eastvale and Riverside, after eight years in the Assembly. She became the first member of the Legislature to have triplets while serving office in 2019.
“This ordeal was deeply distressing and left me even more shaken,” Cervantes said in the statement. “As a senator, wife, and mother, I hold myself to the highest standard and expect others that serve our communities to do the same.”
For More La w and Disorder Visit www.zapinin.com/law-and-disorder
