LAKEWOOD — A Lakewood man has been sentenced to six years in state prison for a 2022 crash that killed one woman and seriously injured another, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer announced Wednesday.
Mordechai Berkowitz, 24, was sentenced December 3 by Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari after pleading guilty earlier this year to vehicular homicide and assault by auto. The term is subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring him to serve at least 85 percent before becoming eligible for parole. A concurrent four-year sentence was imposed for the assault-by-auto charge.
The charges stem from a July 22, 2022 head-on collision on South Lake Drive that killed 44-year-old Juana Lopez-Hernandez, a Mexican citizen, and seriously injured 35-year-old Maria Flores-Moreno of Jackson.
Authorities said Berkowitz was driving a 2018 Chevrolet Impala eastbound when he crossed the center line and struck a Toyota RAV4 carrying both women. Lopez-Hernandez was pronounced dead at Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus. Flores-Moreno was hospitalized at Jersey Shore University Medical Center and later transferred to rehabilitation. She continues to recover at home.
Investigators determined Berkowitz was traveling more than 90 mph in a 35-mph zone. Hospital tests also showed his blood alcohol concentration was .157 percent — nearly twice the legal limit in New Jersey.
Berkowitz was treated for injuries and later surrendered to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office on July 27, 2022. He was released under New Jersey’s bail reform guidelines.
Prosecutor Billhimer credited Senior Assistant Prosecutors Alyssa Mandara and Taylor Toscano, along with multiple law enforcement agencies, for their work leading to Berkowitz’s plea and sentencing.
