RED BANK, NJ — A Monmouth County man has been sentenced to time in prison in connection with a drunk-driving crash that killed a Lakewood woman and her daughter in July 2025, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
On Friday, Raul Luna-Perez, 43, of Red Bank, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison relative to each of his previously entered guilty plea to two counts of aggravated manslaughter in connection with the crash that occurred in Lakewood on July 26, 2025.
Each of these sentences will be subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act (NERA), which means that Luna-Perez will be required to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence before he may be considered for parole eligibility, Billhimer said.
Additionally, Luna-Perez was sentenced to 18 months in NJ State Prison relative to his previously entered guilty plea to assault by auto in connection with the same incident.
The aggravated manslaughter sentences will run consecutive to one another; the assault by auto sentence will run concurrently.
Luna-Perez's sentencing comes after the fatal crash occurred on July 26, 2025.
At 11:20 p.m., Lakewood Police responded to the intersection of Cross Street and Hearthstone Drive for a report of a motor vehicle crash with serious injuries.
An investigation found that a Dodge Durango — driven by Luna-Perez with a passenger inside — was going eastbound on Cross Street when it crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic and collided head-on with a Nissan Sentra.
Investigators determined that Luna-Perez was driving about 60 miles per hour and crossed over the double yellow line at the time of the crash, passing four other vehicles before hitting the Nissan, authorities said.
The driver of the Nissan Sentra, later identified as Maria Pleitez, 42, of Lakewood, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Pleitez's daughter, 11-year-old Dayanara Cortes, was in the front passenger seat of the vehicle and was brought to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood where she succumbed to her injuries.
A second 11-year-old girl, who was seated in the back of the vehicle, was brought to Jersey Shore University Medical Center (JSUMC) in Neptune, where she was treated for her injuries and released.
The passenger of the Dodge Durango was also brought to JSUMC for treatment of minor injuries and later released.
First responders at the scene detected that Luna-Perez showed signs of impairment, Billhimer said.
After he was brought to JSUMC, a draw of Luna-Perez's blood was obtained pursuant to a court-authorized warrant.
Preliminary results of his blood draw revealed that Luna-Perez's Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) was at least a .19 at the time of the blood draw.
In New Jersey, the driver of a motor vehicle is presumed to be over the legal limit for purposes of alcohol consumption where the operator's BAC is .08 or greater.
There was also a quantity of cocaine metabolites in Luna-Perez's blood.
A toxicology report opined that Luna-Perez was under the influence of both substances at the time of the crash, authorities said.
Luna-Perez initially was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of assault by auto, but those charges were upgraded in August 2025 after authorities received the results of the blood draw.
An immigration detainer was placed on him on July 28, hours after the charges against him in the deaths of the woman and child were announced.
He was taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and taken to the ICE detention facility in Elizabeth, but was returned to the Ocean County Jail after the charges were upgraded. He remains in the county jail.
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