McAllen Rowe football player remains hospitalized, 2 in custody

Only have a minute? Listen instead
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Adan De La Cruz

The McAllen Rowe student and football player Adan De La Cruz, who was injured in what the McAllen school district described as a “tragic accident,” remains hospitalized, Sgt. John Saenz from the McAllen Police Department said Monday morning.

Saenz added that police are investigating the incident and currently have one adult arrested and a juvenile detained.

“To say the least, there’s plenty of work to be done,” Saenz said.

On Monday afternoon, police said 51-year-old Jaime Islas was arrested in the case and charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor. He received a $30,000 bond on Sunday.

The release said the juvenile, who has also been charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor, is Islas’ son.

They were taken into custody after police responded to a residence in the 4700 block of North Bentsen Road at approximately 11:39 p.m. on Saturday. 

“Jaime Islas and the juvenile are suspected of providing access (to) alcoholic drinks to minors at a residence, including the victim,” the release stated. “Large amounts of various alcoholic beverages were observed at the scene by responding officers.”

“Other charges may be forthcoming,” the release stated.

Jaime Islas

Police are asking anyone with information about the case to call McAllen Crime Stoppers at (956) 687-8477. Tipsters wishing to remain anonymous can also submit information through the smartphone application P3 Tips.

Earlier in the day, Saenz confirmed to The Monitor the suspects were in custody over De La Cruz’s hospitalization.

The sergeant stated Monday morning that they’re expecting to release some information including charges later today, but that there’s potentially more to come as the investigation continues. 

Saenz was waiting on some “imagery” that McAllen police wanted to share in order to “show the scene” before sending the news release.

“Once I have those images, we intend to show … what the scene was,” Saenz said earlier.

Those photos show a large amount of alcoholic beverages scattered throughout the backyard of the residence.

A vigil planned for Sunday night was canceled out of respect for the family, McAllen ISD spokesman Mark May said previously.

De La Cruz is a three-year letterman at linebacker and one of Rowe’s top returning senior starters in 2024. He was named a First Team All-District 15-5A DI selection as a junior last season after posting a team-leading 82 total tackles and five tackles for loss in 10 games.


Editor’s note: This story has been updated with new information from the McAllen Police Department. 

Staff writer Mark Reagan contributed to this report.

Here’s the latest update:

McAllen man, son sold tickets to party that left football player hospitalized