Drunk Driver Indicted In Crash That Killed Lakewood Mom, Daughter

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Monmouth County man who was in the United States illegally has been indicted in a drunk driving crash that killed a Lakewood woman and her daughter in July, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

Raul Luna-Perez, 43, of Red Bank, was indicted Wednesday on two counts of aggravated manslaughter, two counts of reckless vehicular homicide, two counts of strict liability vehicular homicide, and one count of assault by auto in the crash that happened July 26, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Tests on a sample of Luna-Perez's blood drawn the night of the crash showed his blood alcohol concentration was at least 0.19 percent at the time of the blood draw, the prosecutor's office said.

"Based on the dissipation of BAC over time, it is estimated that his BAC would have been approximately three times the legal limit at the time of the crash," the prosecutor's office said.

Investigators say Luna-Perez was driving a Dodge Durango east on Cross Street when his vehicle crossed the center line and hit a Nissan Sentra head-on in the area of Hearthstone Drive. The prosecutor's office said investigators determined Luna-Perez was driving about 60 miles per hour and crossed over the double yellow line, passing four other vehicles before hitting the Nissan.

The woman driving the Nissan, Maria Pleitez, 42, died at the scene and her daughter Dayanara Cortes, 11, who was in the front seat, died at a hospital later. authorities said. A second 11-year-old girl survived the crash; she was treated at a hospital and later released, authorities said. A passenger in Luna-Perez's Dodge Durango also was taken to the hospital and later released.

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 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.