Lakewood man gets 5 years in 106 mph crash that injured off-duty cop
TOMS RIVER — A judge on Jan. 30 sentenced a 21-year-old Lakewood man to concurrent five-year prison terms for two car crashes, including one that seriously injured an off-duty Lakewood police officer while the defendant was driving 106 mph, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.
Superior Court Judge David M. Fritch imposed prison terms on Edwin Ramirez-Carranza for aggravated assault and fleeing police, to which the defendant pleaded guilty in December.
Ramirez-Carranza must serve 85 percent of the five-year sentence imposed for aggravated assault before he is eligible for parole, under the state’s no-early release law.
In pleading guilty to the assault, Ramirez-Carranza admitted that he was driving a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck at speeds up to 106 mph when he ignored a red light and collided with a Honda Civic at New Hampshire and Cedar Bridge avenues in Lakewood around 12:10 a.m. April 19.
The driver of the Honda was a Lakewood police officer who had just finished his shift, according to a news release issued by Billhimer.
The officer was seriously injured and taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment. The victim was eventually released.
In another incident, Ramirez-Carranza admitted to fleeing the scene of a three-car crash on Route 70 in Lakehurst on Oct. 8, 2024. In that crash, the drivers of all three vehicles fled the scene, Billhimer said in the news release. Police attempted to stop Ramirez-Carranza’s van, but he fled, the release said. Police then encountered Ramirez-Carranza’s vehicle when it became inoperable, according to the release.
In that incident, Ramirez-Carranza also pleaded guilty to underage drunken driving, for which Fritch suspended the defendant’s driver’s license for 30 days, Billhimer said.
Senior Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke handled both cases.
Kathleen Hopkins, a New Jersey reporter since 1985, covers crime, court cases, legal issues and nearly every major murder trial in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Contact her at khopkins@app.com.
This article originally appeared on the Asbury Park Press: Judge Sentences Lakewood Man to Five Years in Prison for 106 Accident.
