LAKE WORTH, Texas — A newly released security video shows the precise moments before Dylan Molina drunkenly crashed his vehicle into the car of Euless police detective Alex Cervantes in November 2021, killing the father and severely injuring his widow and two children.
In the video, police said a bartender ignored warning signs that should have kept Molina off the road.
Investigators said Molina had consumed eight double vodka cocktails at a Fuzzy's Taco Shop in Lake Worth in less than three hours and that his BAC was twice the legal limit.
Police said he ran a red light and hit off-duty detective Cervantes, who was driving with his family.
Molina pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter and three counts of intoxication assault.
As part of the plea, Tarrant County Judge Tamla Ray sentenced Molina to 15 years for intoxication manslaughter and ten years for each intoxication assault charge.
All those sentences will run concurrently, meaning Molina will serve all of his sentences at once.
Now, 26-year-old bartender Cala Richardson has been charged with overserving Molina.
Richardson, who bartended at Fuzzy's when Molina was there, is charged with one count of sale to certain persons, a class A misdemeanor that can carry up to 1 year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
The sale of alcohol to a drunk person is forbidden by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. No other arrests are expected in this case, but TABC's administrative investigation is ongoing.
On Tuesday, police in Lake Worth released a security video from Fuzzy's they obtained while building a case against Molina.
It shows Molina coming out of a door behind the bar that investigators report was a restricted area for employees only.
He can be seen walking behind the bar when Richardson notices him. She motions for him to come around the bar and get back to his seat.
While complying, Molina is seen stumbling onto a stool behind the bar.
Richardson can then be seen helping Molina to his feet. He returns to the other side of the bar while Richardson disappears through the door behind the bar.
Molina then leaves his drink on the bar and walks to his car. Minutes later, he crashes into the Cervantes family.
After leaving the bar, Richardson returns to find Molina gone. She peers into the parking lot and then removes his drink from the bar.
"He couldn't stand up, he was behind the bar, he was in places he shouldn't have been," Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian said.
Manoushagian told WFAA that Richardson should have done more after seeing Molina in his condition.
"The signs that he displayed, should have been an indicator that he was not safe to walk away from that building," Manoushagian said. "This is a stark reminder of what can happen when we ignore those signs."
Richardson told police when she was interviewed that she didn't notice Molina might be drunk until he was behind the bar and stumbling, just seconds before he left.