LAKEWOOD – A 43-year-old Red Bank man has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto following a head-on crash that killed two people and injured a child late Saturday, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
Raul Luna-Perez was driving a Dodge Durango eastbound on Cross Street around 11:20 p.m. when he crossed into the oncoming lane and struck a Nissan Sentra at the intersection of Cross Street and Hearthstone Drive, authorities said.
The female driver of the Sentra was pronounced dead at the scene. An 11-year-old girl riding in the front passenger seat died later at Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, while another 11-year-old girl in the rear seat was hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
Two passengers in Luna-Perez’s vehicle were treated for minor injuries and released. Luna-Perez, who authorities said showed signs of impairment, was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where blood was drawn pursuant to a court warrant. Results are pending.
Luna-Perez was lodged in the Ocean County Jail pending a detention hearing. The crash remains under investigation by multiple agencies, including the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Squad and Lakewood police.
