FRESNO, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — A mother’s heartbreak was on display at the Fresno County Courthouse Thursday, nearly three years to the day since she lost her daughter in a car crash.
“Lily was 15,” Dalia Martinez said. “She had her whole life ahead of her.”
Lilyana Romero was a passenger — one of seven teenagers — crammed in a small car in September 2021.
“She was just hanging out with her friends, and, ultimately, she never came home that night,” Martinez said.
The car swerved across the sidewalk, crashing near Hoover High School. Lilyana died at the scene just a few days before her birthday.
Police say the teenager who was driving was under the influence and got alcohol from University Deli Liquor near Barstow and Cedar Avenues.
Martinez says it never should have happened.
“It comes back to the clerk,” Martinez said. “Because he sold alcohol underage to minors and failed to even screen for it.”
Hassan Mian was the clerk that night. He is out of jail on bail and has pleaded not guilty to three counts of selling alcohol to a minor and one count of providing alcohol that caused injury.
Martinez expected the judge to sentence Mian to a diversion program on Thursday. But, after an emotional plea from Martinez in court, the judge rejected diversion and put the case on track for trial.
Mian could face up to six months in jail if he is convicted.
“No time in jail is going to bring her back,” Martinez said. “But any type of accountability and responsibility that can be had, I will gladly take.”
The judge ordered Mian back to court on November 7 for a pre-trial hearing. Martinez says she will continue to show up in court to be the voice for her daughter.
