Inland Empire state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes said Sacramento police “accosted” her, wrongly accused her of driving under the influence and “involuntarily detained” her “for several hours” after a Monday afternoon, May 19, traffic accident.
In a texted statement Tuesday night, May 20, Cervantes, D-Riverside, said she sought emergency room care after her sedan “was t-boned by a large SUV.”
“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.
“This ordeal was deeply distressing and left me even more shaken.”
Sacramento police could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning, May 21. But POLITICO reported that Cervantes was detained Monday afternoon and cited on suspicion of drunk driving.
POLITICO quoted Officer Allison Smith, a Sacramento Police Department spokesperson, as saying Cervantes was driving in downtown Sacramento when her car hit another vehicle blocks from the State Capitol.
The senator left her car and was taken to a nearby hospital before officers arrived at the scene around 1:30 p.m. Monday, Smith was quoted as saying.
“Police met Cervantes at the hospital, where they determined she was under the influence of alcohol and cited her with a misdemeanor,” POLITICO reported, adding she was later released.
Cervantes added in her 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.”
“I want to be clear: I did nothing wrong. 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, 37, began her Sacramento political career in 2016 by unseating Corona Republican Assemblymember Eric Linder.
The daughter of former Coachella mayor Greg Cervantes, she served in the Assembly until 2024, when she won election to California’s 31st Senate District. The 31st represents Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, Moreno Valley, Perris, San Jacinto and parts of Corona, Fontana, Menifee and Riverside.
In her eight years in Sacramento, Cervantes has authored 49 bills that were signed into law, according to her campaign website. She is a UC Riverside graduate who completed an executive education program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Cervantes, who served as chair of the Legislative Latino Caucus from 2022-24, is the first openly LGBTQ+ Latina to represent western Riverside County in the legislature. The married mother of triplets who were born in 2019 is the fourth California legislator and first LGTBQ+ lawmaker to give birth while in office.
The senator isn’t the first member of her family to deal with DUI accusations.
Her sister, Riverside City Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes, was arrested on suspicion of DUI in 2014 and 2023.
Clarissa Cervantes entered rehab following her second arrest, which came during her campaign for the 58th Assembly District seat. While the Democrat advanced out of the June 2024 primary, Clarissa Cervantes lost the November general election to Republican Leticia Castillo in a blue district.
After Clarissa Cervantes’ second arrest, then-Assemblymember Bill Essayli, R-Corona, sponsored a resolution that would have barred any assemblymember convicted of DUI from using a taxpayer-funded vehicle for three years.
Later, Sabrina Cervantes sponsored a bill, eventually signed into law, requiring the legislature to be told if someone who wins an Assembly or state Senate seat wasn’t continuously registered to vote in the district they were elected to represent.
That bill was seen as a subtle shot at Essayli, who was registered to vote outside the district he was elected to represent in 2022. Essayli, who left Sacramento in April to become a U.S. attorney, later re-registered in his district.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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