Restaurant prohibited from serving alcohol after minor involved in deadly crash
By Felix Cortez
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SALINAS, California (KSBW) — A Salinas teen who was just 16 years old when he caused a deadly DUI crash that took the life of a mother of three has admitted to the charges in juvenile court.
That teen admitted to the charge of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. The teenager had just left a popular Salinas restaurant where state investigators now say he was served alcohol.
The restaurant bar known as the Hacienda Grill on Davis Road had its liquor license revoked on Wednesday, and it now has a year to transfer that license to another holder.
That license was revoked after a year-long investigation by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
“This is an entirely avoidable crime, lives did not have to be lost,” said Marisol Mendez, assistant district attorney for Monterey County.
ABC started its investigation soon after the deadly crash happened on May 27, 2023, just outside the restaurant.
“ABC agents determined that Hacienda Grill server Diego Resendiz furnished the alcoholic beverages,” read a statement released by the ABC.
Police said when the teen left the restaurant, he got into a BMW with another person and then drove down the opposite lane on Davis Road, where he slammed into a passenger van, killing Maria Benavidez, 33.
“And we just want to remind everyone that giving alcohol to a minor is a criminal offense, it’s also very dangerous, as demonstrated by this case. A mother lost her life. There are children who now are without a mother, husband without a wife,” Mendez said.
The restaurant is now banned from serving alcohol indefinitely and it must transfer the liquor license to another holder.
Police say when the underage drinker left the bar, he had a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit for adults, and he wasn’t licensed to drive. Prosecutors say charges against others could be forthcoming.
“There is still an open investigation this minor was not in that establishment alone he was with adults, we’re still looking into the role those adults may have played in giving the minor alcohol,” Mendez said.
In juvenile court Monday the minor admitted to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, he’s scheduled to be sentenced next month.
As for the Hacienda Grill, it can still serve food, but Salinas police will make sure they don’t serve alcohol.
“We’ll do bar checks we’ll go into the restaurant, we’ll just make sure they’re not serving alcohol, nothing more than that. Just make sure they’re compliant with ABC, help ABC out and if there’s any violations, we talk to ABC,” said Brian Johnson, spokesman for Salinas police.
A spokesman for ABC said the agency has no record of server Diego Resendiz completing state-mandated training for those who serve alcohol. That training is designed to help servers identify drinkers who have had too much to drink and the importance of checking IDs.
When KSBW caught up with a man who identified himself as the manager outside the restaurant, he said he had cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so.
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