New charges for illegal immigrant driver who allegedly killed NJ mother, her daughter

The illegal immigrant who drove an SUV head-on into a sedan carrying a young mother and her 11-year-old daughter, killing both, had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit, New Jersey officials revealed this week.

Raul Luna-Perez had also been spotted speeding in the moments just before the fatal July 26 crash, and eyewitnesses told cops they watched his SUV pass four other vehicles before making the fifth, and fatal, attempt.

Luna-Perez, 43, was driving more than 60 miles an hour down a residential street in Lakewood when his Dodge Durango rammed into 42-year-old Maria Pleitez’s Nissan Sentra, killing her in an instant, investigators said this week.

Maria’s daughter, Dayanara Cortes, 11, died moments after arriving at a nearby hospital.

The mother and daughter were on their way to Wawa for milkshakes when they were struck, Pleitez’s niece, Maria del Carmen Pleitez, 39, told The Post.

Dayanara’s friend, also an 11-year-old girl, was in the car with them but survived. She has not been identified by police.

A woman who was with Luna-Perez at the time of the crash was also injured, but was expected to recover.

Luna-Perez has been illegally living in Red Bank, N.J., since early 2023, federal sources told The Post. It’s unclear when and where he crossed into the US.

The suspect was free to drive despite two DUI arrests in March and April and a domestic violence arrest in 2023, according to records.

Luna-Perez’s charges were upgraded to two counts of aggravated manslaughter and two counts of strict liability vehicular homicide Thursday after police received the results of his bloodwork, prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer confirmed.

Last week, Luna-Perez was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and one count of assault by auto.

Luna-Perez is back in a county jail after spending the last week in an ICE detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey, said Billhimer, who plans to keep the accused behind bars until trial.

“Thanks to the cooperation of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Luna-Perez has been returned to Ocean County to face these upgraded charges,” Billhimer said in a statement. 

“His return sends a clear message that our federal partners share in our mission to hold those individuals that commit serious crimes accountable — regardless of their immigration status.”