By: Tracie Carter
A Red Bank man has pleaded guilty in connection with a devastating wrong-way crash in Lakewood Township that claimed the lives of a woman and an 11-year-old girl last summer.
According to a statement released by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, 43-year-old Raul Luna-Perez entered guilty pleas on June 15 before Judge Guy P. Ryan to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and one count of assault by auto.
Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said the charges stem from a fatal crash that occurred on July 26, 2025, at the intersection of Cross Street and Hearthstone Drive.
Authorities said Lakewood Township police officers responded to the scene shortly before 11:30 p.m. and found multiple victims suffering from serious injuries following a head-on collision involving a Dodge Durango and a Nissan Sentra.
Investigators determined that Luna-Perez was driving the Dodge Durango eastbound on Cross Street when he crossed into the opposite lane and struck the Nissan head-on.
The driver of the Nissan, Maria Pleitez, 42, of Lakewood, was pronounced dead at the scene. An 11-year-old girl riding in the front passenger seat was transported to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, where she later died from her injuries.
Another 11-year-old passenger seated in the rear survived and was treated before being released from the hospital.
The passenger in Luna-Perez’s vehicle suffered minor injuries and was also treated and released.
According to investigators, first responders observed signs that Luna-Perez was impaired following the crash.
A court-authorized blood draw was later obtained at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
Prosecutors said toxicology testing revealed Luna-Perez had a blood alcohol concentration of at least .19—more than twice New Jersey’s legal limit of .08.
Authorities also found evidence of cocaine metabolites in his system. A toxicology report concluded he was under the influence of both alcohol and drugs at the time of the collision.
Further investigation found that Luna-Perez was traveling at approximately 60 miles per hour and had crossed over a double-yellow line while passing multiple vehicles before crashing into the Nissan.
Luna-Perez was initially charged with vehicular homicide and assault by auto.
However, after investigators reviewed toxicology results and additional evidence, the charges were upgraded in August 2025 to include two counts of aggravated manslaughter and two counts of strict liability vehicular homicide.
Authorities later took Luna-Perez into custody at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Elizabeth and transported him to the Ocean County Jail, where he has remained since his arrest.
At sentencing, scheduled for August 28, prosecutors will seek two consecutive 10-year prison terms on the aggravated manslaughter convictions.
Those sentences would be subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring Luna-Perez to serve 85 percent of each term before becoming eligible for parole.
Prosecutors are also seeking an additional 18-month sentence on the assault by auto conviction, which would run concurrently.