Lakewood, NJ man was drunk and speeding before deadly crash, cops say

LAKEWOOD — A 20-year-old township resident was drunk and speeding when his car veered into the path of another vehicle and crashed head-on, killing a woman, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer announced.

Mordechai Berkowitz has been charged with aggravated manslaughter, vehicular homicide, strict liability vehicular homicide, aggravated assault and assault by auto stemming from the crash that killed 44-year-old Juana Lopez-Hernandez.

Berkowitz was also charged with motor vehicle offenses of driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, speeding and failure to maintain lane.

On Friday at 8:20 p.m., township police responded to a report of a two-vehicle crash along South Lake Drive near East Lake Park Drive.

Berkowitz had been speeding at roughly 90 miles an hour in a 2018 Chevrolet Impala, according to Billhimer, eastbound on South Lake Drive when his car crossed over the double yellow lanes and collided head-on with a 2017 Toyota RAV-4.

That vehicle was driven by 35-year-old Maria Flores-Moreno, of Jackson, with front-seat passenger, Lopez-Hernandez.

The road's posted speed limit is 35 mph.

Lopez-Hernandez, a Mexican national, was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

Flores-Moreno was listed in stable condition on Wednesday at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune.

Berkowitz was also taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for injuries suffered in the crash.

A blood test at the hospital showed that Berkowitz had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.215%.

Under state law, a person can be convicted of drunk driving if they operate a vehicle with a BAC of 0.08% or greater.

Berkowitz was being held at Ocean County Jail, pending a detention hearing.