Family of Euless officer killed by drunk driver completes adoption process; son changes name to honor father
Slain Euless officer's widow completes adoption process
Friday marked an adoption three years in the making for Priscilla Cervantes and her two boys. They completed the process that started three years ago, before the patriarch of their family, Euless PD Det. Alex Cervantes, was killed by a drunk driver.
FORT WORTH, Texas - Friday marked an adoption three years in the making for Priscilla Cervantes and her two boys.
"It means the world to me. It’s something that both my husband and I have wanted," Cervantes said.
Her husband, Euless PD Det. Alex Cervantes, was off-duty when he was killed by a drunk driver in 2021.
Priscilla and the boys survived the crash.
Alex and Priscilla had previously started the adoption process, and after the crash, Cervantes recalled the boys wondered if the adoption would still go through.
"What’s going to happen to us? Are you still going to want to adopt us? Are you still going to want us?" she said.
Widow of Euless officer killed by suspected drunk driver reflects on her husband's life
Priscilla Cervantes has no memory of the crash that killed her husband, Alex Cervantes, and left her unconscious for days, a crash caused by a suspected drunken driver.
The boys are her cousins. They came from a broken home, with their parents in and out of jail.
She and her husband took them in a year-and-a-half before his death. They became their parents, just not yet on paper.
Now, even as a single mother, Cervantes is moving forward with her two boys.
They say they have her back.
"To love her as the best we can," they said.
The boys said they learned a lot from the man who wanted to officially become their father.
"A lot of good things," they said.
You can sense from their emotion that no one will ever replace their father, Alex.
In fact, while at Friday’s ceremony, 12-year-old Jake legally changed his name to Isaac and 14-year-old Joshua now goes by Alex Cervantes III.
"Yeah, he’d probably be crying," Cervantes said.
For extra support, Judge Kenneth Newell went one-by-one asking dozens of people who came to court — including law enforcement, friends, and extended family of all ages — if they’ll continue to support the Cervantes family.
"And I’m so honored that they’re going to be a part of our family. Officially," Cervantes said. "There’s still that part of me that feels like there’s a missing piece to our puzzle."