Mordechai Berkowitz (Photo: Ocean County Jail)
A 24-year-old Lakewood man has been sentenced to a prison term after pleading guilty to vehicular homicide in connection with a crash that killed a township woman in 2022. Prosecutors said the driver was drunk and traveling at a speed of about 90 m.p.h. when the crash occurred in the area of South Lake Drive and East Lake Park Drive.
According to the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, Mordechai Berkowitz, who was 21 at the time, caused a motor vehicle crash that occurred in Lakewood Township on July 22, 2022, causing the death of Juana Lopez-Hernandez, 44, a citizen of Mexico, and injuring Maria Flores-Moreno, 35, of Jackson. He entered a guilty plea to the vehucular homicide charge before Superior Court Judge Dina Vicari on April 23, 2025. This week, he was sentenced to serve four years in New Jersey state prison on the concurrent convictions of vehicular homicide and assault by auto.
Authorities determined in their investigation that a 2018 Chevrolet Impala, operated by Berkowitz, was headed eastbound on South Lake Drive when it crossed over the double-yellow line and collided head-on with a 2017 Toyota Rav4, operated by Flores-Moreno and also occupied by the front-seat passenger, Lopez-Hernandez. Flores-Moreno was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment of the injuries she suffered in the crash. She was treated for her injuries and later released to a rehabilitation facility. Lopez-Hernandez was transported to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood, where she was pronounced deceased.
Blood samples taken from Berkowitz at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, where he was taken, revealed that his Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at the time of the collision was .157 percent. In New Jersey, the legal limit for alcohol intoxication is .08. Further investigation by county authorities revealed that the vehicle operated by Berkowitz was traveling in excess of 90 m.p.h. at the time of the crash in a zone where the posted speed limit was 35 m.p.h.
On July 27, 2022, Berkowitz surrendered himself to the Ocean County Sheriff’s Office, with his attorney present, to be formally served with the charges. He was transported to the Ocean County Jail and released a short time later pursuant to New Jersey’s bail reform law. Senior Assistant Prosecutor Alyssa Mandara and Senior Assistant Prosecutor Taylor Toscano handled the case for the state.
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