Man Indicted In DWI Crash That Killed Woman, Injured 2nd Woman In Ocean County: Prosecutor

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood man has been indicted in connection with a high-speed head-on crash that killed one woman and severely injured another in July 2022, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office announced.

Mordechai Berkowitz, 21, was indicted Thursday on charges of aggravated manslaughter and aggravated assault in the July 22 crash in the area of South Lake Drive and East Lake Park Drive that killed Juana Lopez-Hernandez and seriously injured Maria Flores-Moreno, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Berkowitz was driving east on South Lake Drive in a 2018 Chevrolet Impala when he crossed the center line and hit a 2017 Toyota Rav4 driving by Flores-Moreno head-on, police said at the time of the crash.

Investigators determined Berkowitz was speeding in excess of 90 mph at the time of the crash and a blood draw at Jersey Shore University Medical Center found Berkowitz had a blood alcohol concentration of .157 percent, Billhimer said Thursday. A person is presumed to be intoxicated with a BAC of .08 percent or more under New Jersey law.

The posted speed limit on South Lake Drive is 35 mph.

Lopez-Hernandez, 44, of Mexico, who was the front-seat passenger in the Toyota, was pronounced dead at Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood of her injuries, authorities said.

Billhimer said Flores-Moreno, 35, of Jackson, was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, and was later released to a rehabilitation facility. Billhimer said she is currently home still recuperating from her injuries.

Berkowitz surrendered himself to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, with his attorney present, on July 27, 2022, and was taken to the Ocean County Jail but subsequently released as a consequence of New Jersey Bail Reform, Billhimer said.

Assistant Prosecutor Alyssa Mandara presented the case to the grand jury on behalf of the state. The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit, and Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, the Brick Township Police Department Traffic Safety Unit, the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, and Ocean County Medical Examiner’s Office, cooperated in the investigation.