California state senator cited for suspicion of drunken driving, says she wasn’t intoxicated
May 21, 2025, 2:27 PM
FILE - Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif., May 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A California state lawmaker denied having any alcohol in her system after Sacramento police cited her earlier this week on suspicion of drunken driving.
Sacramento police responded at around 1:30 p.m. Monday to a report of a vehicle crash involving state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, department spokesperson Allison Smith said. Cervantes was taken by a private party to a hospital and treated for minor injuries, Smith said.
Smith said officers also went to the hospital as part of their investigation into the incident. They observed “objective signs of intoxication” and issued her a citation for suspicion of DUI, she said.
Cervantes, a Democrat representing part of the Inland Empire, claims no wrongdoing. She said she was seeking care in an emergency room after a car struck her vehicle. She was then “accosted” by Sacramento police officers, who accused her of driving under the influence and detained her for several hours, she said.
Cervantes was elected to the state Senate last year after years serving in the Assembly. She previously chaired the Latino Legislative Caucus.
Cervantes said “lab results” she sought in the hospital showed she did not have alcohol in her system. Police did not conduct a breathalyzer test, Smith said.
“This ordeal was deeply distressing and left me even more shaken,” Cervantes said in a 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.”
The incident, which was first were arrested in separate incidents in 2023 for driving under the influence. Both admitted wrongdoing.
