Drunk Driver That Killed NJ Woman, Daughter Was Repeat Offender, Here Illegally, Officials Say

LAKEWOOD, NJ — While the family of a Lakewood woman and her daughter mourn their deaths in a crash, a political battle has erupted over the status of the man who authorities say was driving under the influence when he hit their vehicle head-on in Lakewood.

Raul Luna-Perez, 43, of Red Bank has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of assault by auto in the crash that happened about 11:20 p.m. July 26, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said. He is suspected of impaired driving and a sample of his blood was taken under a court-approved warrant, Billhimer said.

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.

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 woman driving the Nissan died at the scene, and one 11-year-old girl, who was in the front seat, died at a hospital later. A second 11-year-old girl survived the crash, authorities said.

Authorities have not identified the mother and child, but the niece of the woman identified them as Maria Pleitez, 42, and Dayanara Cortes, 11. Maria Celina Aguilar, who created a GoFundMe campaign to raise the money necessary to return their bodies to their home country for burial, said her aunt "was a wonderful woman who worked hard everyday to take care of her daughters."

In a news release, the Department of Homeland Security said it was initiating removal proceedings for Luna-Perez, saying he was not in the country legally. Information on how long he is believed to have been in the United States was not provided.

Luna-Perez had multiple driving under the influence charges against him, according to the statement, including two earlier in 2025. The statement also cited a "simple domestic violence" charge from 2023 among the charges in his past.

The statement also blamed Gov. Phil Murphy for the fatal crash, saying, "Governor Murphy and his sanctuary policies released this serial criminal into New Jersey communities. Now, this innocent family is shattered by their failed leadership. President Trump and Secretary Noem will continue to do everything in their power to remove these criminal illegal aliens before they destroy more lives."

Murphy's office, in response, told the Asbury Park Press that federal authorities should have deported Luna-Perez well before June: "The governor believes that Mr. Luna-Perez, who has been arrested multiple times for DUI and domestic violence, should not have been allowed behind the wheel and should have already been deported due to his previous dangerous criminal activity."

According to Assemblyman Paul Kanitra of the 10th District, Maria Pleitez and her family were in the United States legally, and he too blasted Murphy, blaming the governor's policies for Luna-Perez still being on the road.

Drunken driving arrests and consequences have long been an issue in the United States and in New Jersey.

According to statistics on court cases monitored by the national organization Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 18 percent of those arrested for drunken driving had their charges dismissed in 2020, the most recent statistics available. An additional 8 percent were reduced in a plea deal, and 7 percent received deferred prosecution. The report, issued in 2021, was based on 33,000 cases monitored in 17 states.

MADD, which has campaigned for more than 40 years for measures to put an end to drunk driving deaths, said 63 percent of drunk driving cases in 2020 resulted in a conviction.

Repeat offenders make up nearly a quarter of the arrests, according to MADD.

"Of the 1 million individuals arrested each year for impaired driving, roughly 230,000 of those arrests are repeat offenders," the MADD court report said. The organization is advocating for ignition interlocks that require drivers to provide a clean breath sample before the car will start.

MADD did not have a state-by-state breakdown on drunken driving conviction statistics.

In New Jersey, drivers convicted of their first drunken driving offense are subject to fines of $250 to $500, with the fine escalating to $1,000 for subsequent offenses. A first offense also is punishable by up to 30 days in jail but that is at the discretion of the judge. Mandatory jail time is not issued until there is a second DUI conviction, with a minimum of 2 days up to 90 days. A third offense is punishable by 180 days in jail, which can be reduced if the person seeks inpatient addiction treatment.

Reports of fatal drunk driving crashes involving drivers with multiple drunk driving convictions are not rare, and even those charged in fatal DUI crashes are frequently released to await trial.

A Toms River woman who pleaded guilty to hitting and killing a man who was delivering a package on Bay Avenue in 2022 had multiple DUI convictions before the fatal crash. She was released to await trial on the vehicular homicide charge, a common outcome. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison after her guilty plea.

In May, an Egg Harbor City man was sentenced to prison in a fatal drunk driving crash. He too was released from jail to await trial in the case, sparking outrage in the community, according to reports by ABC6 Philadelphia.