In summary
Sen. Sabrina Cervantes did not appear to be at fault in a crash near the California Capitol, CalMatters found. But police claim she was driving under the influence of a drug.
Sacramento police have accused a California state senator of driving under the influence of a drug following a Monday afternoon crash a few blocks from the Capitol that occurred less than an hour before she was supposed to be on the floor of the state Legislature.
CalMatters reviewed footage from a nearby office building’s security camera that appears to show Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, 37, wasn’t at fault in the crash that occurred around 1 p.m. Monday.
The footage shows a white SUV rolling through a stop sign and careening into Cervantes’ black sedan at the intersection of 14th and S streets in midtown Sacramento. Cervantes appeared to have had the right-of-way as she drove east on S Street.
In a written statement on Tuesday, Cervantes said she “did nothing wrong” and the crash wasn’t her fault. Late on Wednesday, she released another statement calling the allegations “utterly false.” She also released heavily redacted records she said were from her Monday hospital visit, in which a test showed a blood alcohol content of near zero. Separate tests taken the day after the crash showed a clean drug screen.
“They show conclusively that I had no alcohol or drugs in my system — and that my vital signs and behavior were “normal,’” she said. “The Sacramento Police Department’s accusations are unjust and hold no truth. Again, I expect this matter to be quickly and justly resolved.”
“I was accosted by Sacramento Police Department officers, falsely accused of driving under the influence, and involuntarily detained for several hours at the hospital. This ordeal was deeply distressing and left me even more shaken. As a senator, wife, and mother, I hold myself to the highest standard and expect others that serve our communities to do the same,” she said in a statement earlier in the week.
Prosecutors are waiting for toxicology results before deciding whether to file charges, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s office said.
Police say it was a drug, not booze
Earlier in the week, Cervantes had said only that there was no alcohol in her system. Sacramento Police Department spokesperson Anthony Gamble on Wednesday said Cervantes was cited under a California statute that prohibits driving under the influence of “any drug.” That includes prescription or even over-the-counter medications.
“Sen. Cervantes was cited for suspicion of driving a motor vehicle under the influence of a central nervous system depressant,” Gamble told CalMatters Wednesday in an email.
At the hospital where police met Cervantes, they “observed objective signs of intoxication and conducted a DUI investigation,” then cited the senator on suspicion of DUI, a misdemeanor, Gamble said.
“Based on the objective signs, officers believed that Cervantes was under the influence of a central nervous system depressant,” Gamble said. “Blood was drawn and it will take time for the results to come back.”
Gamble declined to say what the “objective signs” were and did not address Cervantes’ claims. CalMatters has filed a public records request seeking body camera footage and police reports.
Asked why officers did not take Cervantes into custody, Gamble said “every investigation is different.” State law gives a wide range of reasons for police to release people cited for misdemeanors.
Other lawmakers’ DUI arrests
Gamble said the senator was driving a state-owned vehicle, a Toyota Camry, when she was struck in the intersection by a Ford Explorer. The cause of the collision was still under investigation, he said.
The state fleet manager called police to report the collision, Gamble said, and told police that Cervantes’ chief of staff drove her to the hospital.
The footage CalMatters reviewed shows Cervantes speaking with the other driver and waiting near her vehicle until men in business attire arrive. They remove a suitcase and other items from her vehicle before departing.
Cervantes’ chief of staff, Cesar Anda, did not immediately respond to CalMatters today.
The Explorer’s driver did not show signs of intoxication or injuries, Gamble said.
Cervantes moved to the Senate last year after serving in the Assembly since 2016.
Cervantes is hardly the first member of the Legislature to be accused of driving while under the influence.
Former Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat from Irvine who was elected in November to Congress in a close race, also was cited in 2023 for driving drunk in Sacramento. He pleaded guilty.
Former Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo, a Los Angeles Democrat, also pleaded no contest last year to a DUI she received the previous year in Los Angeles.
She lost a race last year for Los Angeles City Council. She later introduced legislation to educate students about the harms of excessive drinking. Carrillo told CalMatters last month that she’s been sober ever since. She said she plans to run for state Senate.
Cervantes’ sister, Clarissa Cervantes, who sought unsuccessfully to replace her sister in the Assembly last November, was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in the summer of 2023. She later pleaded guilty. It was her second DUI in less than 10 years, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
