Police escort body of Euless officer killed in Lake Worth crash to funeral home
St. Louis Avenue outside the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office in Fort Worth was bathed Sunday night in red and blue lights whirling from atop law enforcement squad cars as the body of a Euless police officer who died on Saturday in a vehicle collision was escorted to a funeral home.
Detective Alejandro Cervantes, who was known as Alex, worked patrol until about three months ago when he became a detective. He was off duty when he died in the collision in Lake Worth in which authorities alleged the other driver was drunk.
Cervantes’ wife, who was a passenger, was critically injured. Her condition was stable on Sunday, police said. Their two children were seriously injured.
Euless Police Chief Mike Brown described Cervantes at a televised news conference Sunday as a great man. “If you’re an old guy like me and you have kids, you want your son to grow up like that. If you’re a kid, you want him to be your dad,” he said. “... That was just the way he was. Never did I hear a negative word come out of his month about anybody or anything.”
Brown said that on Nov. 28, 1982, he responded when another Euless officer, Michael Williamson, was killed after his patrol car was hit head-on by a drunk driver. The chief said this weekend’s fatal crash, 39 years later, serves as another tragic reminder of the consequences of driving while intoxicated.
“To lose a fellow servant, and he was a true servant, like this — tragically, needlessly — there’s just no excuse for this anymore,” Brown said.
Dylan Molina, 26, of Lake Worth, ran a red light and struck the Cervantes’ car at Boat Club Road and Rocky Point Trail about 1:30 p.m., police said.
Molina tried to leave the scene but was apprehended by neighbors and bystanders, according to a police statement. When officers took him into custody, authorities said, they detected a strong odor of alcohol on Molina’s breath.
Molina, who was driving a Jeep Wrangler, was arrested on suspicion of one count of intoxication manslaughter, one count of accident involving death and three counts of aggravated assault. He was being held Sunday in the Tarrant County Jail with bond set at $300,000.
“We will investigate this crime to the fullest extent of the law and hold all those who contributed to Detective Cervantes’ death accountable for their actions, or lack thereof,” Lake Worth Police Chief J.T Manoushagian wrote in a statement.
Lake Worth Police Department will lead the investigation with the assistance of the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Team and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission.
“Alex had served honorably with our police department for almost seven years and was a member of our police department Honor Guard Team. He had also previously served eight years with the El Paso Police Department,” Euless police wrote in a statement. “Please keep Alex’s family, friends, colleagues and the Euless community in your thoughts and prayers during this extremely difficult time.”
Firefighters used specialized rescue equipment to free the family from their Chevrolet Impala, police said.
Cervantes’ wife was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital and the children were taken to Cook Children’s Medical Center.
Funeral arrangements were not complete on Sunday and will be made through Lucas Funeral Home in Hurst.
This story was originally published November 28, 2021, 9:16 PM.
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