Family of Euless detective killed in DWI crash suing Fuzzy’s Tacos, General Motors

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

Dylan Molina, the 27-year-old driver, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter and three cases of intoxication assault in the death of Euless Detective Alejandro “Alex” Cervantes and critical injuries to his wife and two sons.

“The Cervantes family was shocked to learn that Fuzzy’s Taco Shop allowed an unlicensed bar tender being supervised by an unlicensed manager to serve alcohol to such an obviously intoxicated person,” Zadeh Firm Attorneys wrote in a statement. 

At the time of the incident, the lawsuit states Molina told police he’d had three double vodka Red Bull drinks at the Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. This was later proven untrue, as Molina had actually completed seven double vodka Red Bull drinks and partially drank an eighth, the lawsuit said. 

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

Investigation following the collision showed Molina had arrived at Fuzzy’s at 10:37 a.m. and had nearly eight drinks in about two-and-a-half hours. 

The suit states security footage shows Molina walk through a door behind the bar from an area restricted to employees, and the bartender Cala Richardson telling him to go back to his seat. 

“Despite his obvious intoxication, Dylan Molina continued to be served alcohol throughout the morning and early afternoon of Nov. 27, 2021,” the suit reads. “Despite his obvious intoxication, Dylan Molina was permitted to leave Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and drive a motor vehicle.”

Richardson herself was charged with one count of sale to certain persons, a class A misdemeanor, for allegedly overserving Molina. The sale of alcohol to a drunk person is forbidden by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.

Neither Richardson nor her manager, Jayline Barbosa, had their TABC server certificate, license or permit at the time of the incident, the lawsuit said. 

“Instead of terminating Cala Richardson and Jayline Barbosa, the Fuzzy’s Taco Companies had Cala Richardson and Jayline Barbosa obtain a TABC server’s certificate, three days later, on Nov. 30, 2021,” the suit states.

The suit argues that Fuzzy’s Tacos Companies Employee Handbook had an “inadequate, defective and negligent Alcohol Server Policy.” 

“First, the Alcohol Server Policy and the Employee Handbook failed to require the server to be certified by the TABC to sell and serve alcohol or require its employees to attend a commission-approved training program,” the suit reads.
“Second, 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.”

The suit states no evidence was shown that any termination or counseling occurred. 

“The Fuzzy’s Taco Company’s violated their own Alcohol Server Policy because Cala Richardson was not aware of the laws and regulations when serving alcohol, she served an intoxicated person in Dylan Molina and now the Fuzzy’s Taco Companies are being sued for the death and injuries caused by the Fuzzy’s Taco Companies’ actions as predicted by their own policies,” the suit adds. 

Because of this, the suit argues Fuzzy’s Taco Companies are vicariously liable for Richardson and Barbosa’s actions. 

At the time of the collision, the suit states a defective occupant restraint system failed to restrain the occupant’s movement during the crash, nor use a center-mounted airbag, which the suit argues created an unreasonable risk of impact injuries to the front seat occupants of the vehicles. 

“At the time of the collision, the Decedent Alejandro Cervantes, Jr. was properly seated and properly wearing the available seatbelt,” the suit states. “However, despite being properly restrained and properly wearing the available seatbelt, Decedent Alejandro Cervantes, Jr. sustained fatal injuries when the Subject Vehicle failed to protect him because it violated several crashworthiness principles.”

The suit states General Motors has stated before that it is irrelevant who caused an accident, and that safety systems have to perform properly no matter who causes an accident. 

“[I]nsofar as society permits vehicle manufacturers to operate in such a way that they are permitted to sell highly complex, potentially dangerous, and also potentially highly profitable products on the market, manufacturers have a duty to do their very best to ensure that the vehicle will not be harmful to buyers, their households, or third parties,” the suit reads. 

Counts against General Motors include strict liability and defective design. 

“The fatal and personal injuries complained of occurred because the Subject Vehicle was not reasonably crashworthy, and was not reasonably fit for unintended, but clearly foreseeable, collisions,” the suit reads. “The vehicle in question was unreasonably dangerous in the event it should be involved in any collision such as occurred herein.”

Molina is also being sued for negligence in the incident. 

WFAA has reached out to Fuzzy’s Taco Shop and General Motors for comment on the lawsuit. We did not immediately hear back, but will update this article if and when we do.