Prosecutor: Red Bank man's BAC nearly triple legal limit in fatal Lakewood crash
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Raul Luna-Perez, 43, has been charged with two counts of aggravated manslaughter and two counts of strict liability vehicular homicide.
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A Red Bank man is now facing upgraded charges in a Lakewood crash that killed a woman and an 11-year-old girl.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced that Raul Luna-Perez, 43, has been charged with two counts of aggravated manslaughter and two counts of strict liability vehicular homicide.
The charges stem from a July 26 crash at Cross Street and Hearthstone Drive. Luna-Perez's Dodge Durango crossed into oncoming traffic and hit a Nissan Sentra head-on.
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Maria Pleitez, 42, of Lakewood, was pronounced dead at the scene. An 11-year-old front-seat passenger later died at the hospital. Another 11-year-old in the back seat was treated and released.
Luna-Perez was initially charged with vehicular homicide and assault by auto, but authorities say new blood test results showed his BAC was at least 0.19—nearly three times the legal limit.
Investigators say he was speeding and passed four vehicles before the crash. He was taken into custody on Thursday at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility and is now being held in Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing.
