TOMS RIVER — A Lakewood man has been sentenced to state prison for eluding police while intoxicated and for causing a separate high-speed crash that seriously injured an off-duty police officer, Ocean County authorities said.
Edwin Ramirez-Carranza, 21, was sentenced Friday to five years in New Jersey State Prison after pleading guilty to eluding and aggravated assault, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer. Superior Court Judge David M. Fritch ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
The aggravated assault conviction stems from an April 19, 2025, crash in Lakewood Township and is subject to the No Early Release Act, requiring Ramirez-Carranza to serve at least 85% of the sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Judge Fritch also imposed a six-month suspension of Ramirez-Carranza’s driver’s license for the eluding offense.
At the sentencing hearing, Ramirez-Carranza also pleaded guilty to underage driving while intoxicated related to the eluding incident, resulting in an additional 30-day license suspension. He entered guilty pleas to both indictable charges on Dec. 1, 2025.
The eluding case dates to Oct. 8, 2024, when Lakehurst police witnessed a three-vehicle crash on Route 70. Authorities said all three vehicles attempted to leave the scene. Officers tried to stop a Chevrolet Silverado driven by Ramirez-Carranza, but he fled and was eventually forced to stop when the vehicle became disabled in traffic. Police reported Ramirez-Carranza showed signs of intoxication, failed field sobriety tests and registered a blood alcohol level above the legal limit for an underage driver. He was arrested and later released under New Jersey’s bail reform guidelines.
The aggravated assault charge arose from a separate crash shortly after midnight on April 19, 2025, at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Cedar Bridge Avenue. Investigators said Ramirez-Carranza, again driving a Chevrolet Silverado, ran a red light at a high rate of speed and struck a Honda Civic driven by an off-duty Lakewood Township police officer who had just completed his shift.
Authorities determined the Silverado was traveling about 106 mph seconds before impact. The officer suffered serious injuries and was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was treated and later released. Ramirez-Carranza was also hospitalized before being taken into custody and has remained jailed since April 20, 2025.
Billhimer credited Senior Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke and multiple law enforcement agencies for their work on the cases, including the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit Vehicular Homicide Squad, Lakehurst Borough Police, Lakewood Township Police and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office Crime Scene Investigation Unit.
