Man Convicted In Fatal 93 MPH Route 9 Crash In Ocean County In 2022

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River man has been convicted of vehicular homicide in a high-speed crash that killed a Lakewood man in 2022, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said.

Alejandro Huerta-Arias, 26, was found guilty Tuesday following a nearly two-week trial before Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Huerta-Arias was driving north on Route 9 about 8:15 a.m. on March 9, 2022, in a 2012 Infiniti G35 when he hit the 2008 Chevrolet Impala being driven by Mark Mandel, 32, authorities said.

Mandel was southbound at the time and was trying to turn left onto Courtney Road when he was hit and the force sent his car into a pole for a traffic signal. He died on impact, authorities said.

Authorities later said Huerta-Arias, who suffered a broken leg, was driving an average of 93 mph at the time of the crash. The speed limit in the area is 40 mph.

He was charged with vehicular homicide in June 2022, and indicted in April 2023, and had been freed under New Jersey Bail Reform rules, but was taken to the Ocean County Jail following Tuesday's verdict, jail records show.

"The jury concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Huerta-Arias recklessly operated a motor vehicle which caused the death of Mr. Mandel," the prosecutor's office said.

Huerta-Arias is scheduled to be sentenced by Vicari on May 16 and faces 10 years in prison, subject to the terms of the No Early Release Act, officials said.

Billhimer praised Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke, who tried the case, and thanked the Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Lakewood Township Police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit, for their combined investigation.