Man Charged As High-Speed Crash Critically Injures Ocean County Police Officer: Prosecutor

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A Lakewood police officer was in critical condition on Monday after his car was hit by a pickup truck early Saturday that ran a red light and was speeding at more than 100 mph, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

The officer, who has not been identified, was off duty and headed home after work, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. He is hospitalized at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

The driver of the pickup, Edwin Ramirez-Carranza, 20, of Lakewood, has been charged with aggravated assault in the crash, Billhimer said.

The crash happened about 12:10 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Cedar Bridge Avenue, authorities said. The officer was driving east on Cedar Bridge Avenue in a Honda Civic when his car was hit by a Chevy Silverado driven north on New Hampshire Avenue by Ramirez-Carranza, they said.

The pickup truck ran a red traffic signal and was traveling at 106 mph just seconds before the collision, the prosecutor's office said. The Silverado ended up in a drainage basin after the crash, while the Civic remained in the road, authorities said.

A search of Ramirez-Carranza’s pickup truck turned up an unspecified amount of marijuana, the prosecutor's office said. He was injured in the crash and initially was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment; a draw of his blood was obtained pursuant to a court-authorized warrant while he was at the hospital, the prosecutor's office said.

In addition to aggravated assault, Ramirez-Carranzo has been issued numerous motor vehicle summonses, including: operating an unregistered vehicle; careless driving; reckless driving; failure to observe a traffic signal; speeding; operating a motor vehicle after 11 p.m. with a probationary driver’s license; using a wireless device while operating a motor vehicle with a probationary driver’s license; failure to have required decals on a license plate while operating a motor vehicle with a probationary driver’s license, and having an unsealed container of cannabis in a motor vehicle, the prosecutor's office said.

Ramirez-Carranza was released from Jersey Shore University Medical Center on Sunday and has been held at the Ocean County Jail since, pending a detention hearing, authorities said.

The crash was investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit Vehicular Homicide Squad, Lakewood Township Police Department, and Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.