California state senator cited for DUI after crash near Capitol says she’s been ‘falsely accused’
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A California state senator cited on suspicion of DUI following a car crash in Sacramento has forcefully denied the allegation — saying she has been “falsely accused” and lab tests later done at a hospital will show she had no alcohol in her system.
Sen. Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) said she was detained and questioned for several hours as she was being treated at a hospital on Monday afternoon after her sedan was T-boned by an SUV near the Capitol.
“I want to be clear: I did nothing wrong,” Cervantes, 37, said in a statement Wednesday. “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.”
Cervantes left her vehicle near the intersection of 14th and S streets around 1:30 p.m. and was taken to a hospital, where officers met her, according to the Sacramento Police Department. The officers “observed objective signs of intoxication and conducted a DUI investigation,” the department said in a statement.
Officers said she was under the influence and cited her with a misdemeanor on suspicion of DUI.
Cervantes, however, denies the claim and said police questioned her for several hours while she was being treated for her minor injuries.
“I was accosted by Sacramento Police Department officers, falsely accused of driving under the influence, and involuntarily detained for several hours at the hospital,” Cervantes said in her statement. “This ordeal was deeply distressing and left me even more shaken. As a Senator, wife, and mother, I hold myself to the highest standard and expect others that serve our communities to do the same.”
Cervantes represents the 31st Senate District, covering portions of Riverside County and the Inland Empire, and previously served in the state Assembly. She has served as the chair for the Latino Legislative Caucus and is also a member of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus and the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus.
Her sister, Clarissa Cervantes, serves as a city council member in Riverside and her father, Greg Cervantes, is the former mayor of Coachella.
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