By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Thursday, April 03, 2025

Nicholas Betancourt, a former teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America, who police say caused a crash while driving under the influence of cocaine and other drugs, killing a mother of four and injuring three of her children, has been slapped with a wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit.

“No matter who’s at fault, these cases are extremely difficult and emotional cases, “Richard Escobar, an attorney in Tampa, Florida, who is representing Betancourt in his criminal case, told the Tampa Bay Times. “Right now, we’re out there investigating the facts and circumstances of the case and trying to get prepared so that we know as much as we can about what took place.”

Betancourt, 33, was formally hit with a long list of charges related to the crash on March 13, including: driving under the influence manslaughter; vehicular homicide; two counts of driving under the influence with property damage or injury; two counts of driving under the influence serious bodily injury; two counts of reckless driving with serious bodily injury; two counts of reckless driving with property damage or injury; driving with a suspended license resulting in death; two counts of driving with a suspended license resulting in serious bodily injury; seven counts of possession of drug paraphernalia; possession of cocaine; and six counts of possession of a controlled substance.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to court records reviewed by The Christian Post.

A release from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said Betancourt was first arrested on Feb. 27 by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office for driving under the influence.

He was released at around 9 a.m. on Feb. 28. Hours later, however, at about 3:45 p.m., the pastor, whose license was suspended, crashed into Dana Rivera, 36, as she was driving her Lincoln Town Car southbound on Gunn Highway with three of her four children.

The Tampa Bay Times reported that she was on her way to pick up her fourth child from school. Police say Betancourt, who was driving north on the highway, entered the southbound lane and struck Rivera’s vehicle. The mother died at the scene while her three children, ages 4, 6 and 15, were seriously injured.

Betancourt, who was also hospitalized, was found to be under the influence of cocaine and methamphetamines at the time of the accident. Police also found multiple drugs, including methamphetamines, mushrooms, cocaine, MDMA, oxycodone, Xanax and carisoprodol in the Chrysler Pacifica minivan he was driving. The van is owned by Betancourt’s wife, Catalina.

Albert Arsenault, Rivera’s longtime partner and father of her four children, who also represents her estate, filed the wrongful death and personal injury lawsuit against Betancourt and his wife last Friday, the Tampa Bay Times said. It alleges negligence and seeks unspecified damages for Arsenault and his four children.

“For the good of this family and the people who travel our Florida highways you can rest assured that we will hold this driver fully accountable for his actions and the horrific losses his conduct resulted in,” at statement from Tampa’s Yerrid Law Firm, which represents the family, said.

Prior to her death, Rivera reportedly worked two jobs to help support her family.

In a statement on its website following Betancourt’s arrest, Christ Central Presbyterian Church in Tampa said he resigned as their assistant pastor in January.

“We were devastated to hear about the arrest of our former assistant pastor, Nicholas Betancourt, and the circumstances surrounding his car accident on February 28 leading to the death of a woman and serious injury to her children,” the church said.

“Nicholas was employed by our church until his resignation on January 24 of this year, and his official pastoral relationship was dissolved by the presbytery on February 8. While we no longer have any official relationship with Nick, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this car accident and all the families involved. In times like this, sacred scripture directs our thoughts to our merciful God.” This was followed by Lamentations 3:19-24.

News Source : https://www.christianpost.com/news/former-pastor-charged-in-crash-that-killed-mother-of-4-is-sued.html