The family of Detective Euless, who died in a car accident, sued Fuzzy’s Tacos and General Motors

LAKE WORTH, Texas. The family of Detective Euless, who was hit by a drunk driver in late November 2021, is suing Fuzzy’s Tacos and General Motors.

Dylan Molina, a 27-year-old driver, pleaded guilty to drunken manslaughter and three counts of assault while intoxicated in the death of Detective Juless Alejandro “Alex” Cervantes and the serious injuries of his wife and two sons.

“The Cervantes family was shocked to learn that Fuzzy’s Taco Shop allowed an unlicensed bar tender, under the supervision of an unlicensed manager, to serve alcohol to such a clearly drunk person,” Zadeh’s lawyers said in a statement.

At the time of the incident, the lawsuit alleges that Molina told police he drank three double shots of Red Bull Vodka at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. This was later proven to be untrue as Molina actually drank seven double shots of Red Bull Vodka and partly drank an eighth shot, the lawsuit says.

Police gave Molina a breathalyzer at the scene, which showed his blood alcohol content was 0.144, the lawsuit says.

An investigation after the collision found that Molina arrived at Fuzzy’s at 10:37 a.m. and drank almost eight drinks in about two and a half hours.

The lawsuit says security footage shows Molina walking through the door behind the bar from the employee-restricted area, and bartender Cala Richardson tells him to return to his seat.

“Despite his apparent intoxication, Dylan Molina continued to be served alcohol on the morning and afternoon of November 27, 2021,” the lawsuit states. “Despite being clearly intoxicated, Dylan Molina was allowed to leave Fuzzy’s taco shop and drive.”

Richardson herself was charged with one count of selling to certain persons, a class A misdemeanor, for allegedly serving Molina excessively. Selling alcohol to drunk people is prohibited by the Texas Liquor Commission.

The lawsuit states that neither Richardson nor her manager, Jaylene Barbosa, was certified, licensed, or authorized to run a TABC server at the time of the incident.

“Instead of firing Cala Richardson and Jailene Barbosa, Fuzzy’s Taco forced Cala Richardson and Jailene Barbosa to become TABC server certified three days later on November 30, 2021,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit alleges that the Fuzzy Taco Company Employee Handbook had “inadequate, defective, and negligent alcohol policies.”

“First, the Alcohol Policy and Employee Handbook do not require a server to be certified by the TABC to sell and serve alcohol, or require its employees to attend a board-approved training program,” the lawsuit states.
“Secondly, the Alcohol Server Policy provides that a person under the influence of alcohol must not be served, that any employee who willfully violates the Policy will be terminated, and any employee who carelessly served a person under the influence of alcohol will be advised.”

The lawsuit states that no evidence was presented that any dismissal or counseling took place.

“Fuzzy’s Taco Company violated its own Liquor Service Policy because Cala Richardson was unaware of the laws and regulations when serving alcohol, she was serving a drunk person in Dylan Molina and now Fuzzy’s Taco Companies are being sued for death and injury caused by Fuzzy’s Taco’s actions Companies are predicted by their own policies,” the lawsuit says.

Because of this, the lawsuit alleges that the Fuzzy’s Taco Companies are vicariously liable for the actions of Richardson and Barbosa.

At the time of the collision, the suit states that a faulty occupant safety system failed to restrict the passenger’s movement during the crash and did not deploy the center airbag, which the suit claims created an unreasonable risk of impact injury to the front seat occupants. vehicles.

“At the time of the collision, the deceased Alejandro Cervantes Jr. was sitting correctly and was wearing a seat belt,” the lawsuit says. “However, despite being properly restrained and wearing a seat belt, the deceased Alejandro Cervantes Jr. suffered fatal injuries when the test vehicle failed to protect him as it violated several crashworthiness principles.”

The lawsuit states that General Motors said earlier that it doesn’t matter who caused the accident and that the safety systems should work properly regardless of who caused the accident.

“[I]Since society allows vehicle manufacturers to operate in such a way that they are allowed to sell highly sophisticated, potentially dangerous, as well as potentially highly profitable products on the market, manufacturers have an obligation to do everything possible to ensure that the vehicle is not harmful to buyers, their households or third parties. the lawsuit says.

The accounts against General Motors include strict liability and defective designs.

“The fatal injuries and injuries complained of occurred because the vehicle in question was not reasonably fit for unintentional but clearly foreseeable collisions,” the lawsuit states. “The vehicle in question was unnecessarily dangerous if it were to be involved in any collision like the one here.”

Molina is also being sued for negligence in the incident.

The WFAA has reached out to Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and General Motors for comment on the lawsuit. We didn’t get a response right away, but we’ll update this article if and when we get it.