NJ driver charged after crash kills mother and 11-year-old daughter

🚨A mother, 11-year-old daughter and another girl collided with a pickup

🚨Mother and daughter lost their lives in the crash

🚨Police say the other driver seemed impaired

LAKEWOOD — An 11-year-old girl and her mother were killed in a head-on collision late Saturday night, resulting in criminal charges against a driver.

Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said a Dodge Durango headed east on Cross Street near Hearthstone Drive drifted into the opposite lane and hit a Nissan Sentra at 11:20 p.m. The woman driving the Sentra was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her 11-year-old daughter, sitting on the passenger side, was taken to Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus in Lakewood where she later died.

Another girl in the car, also 11 years old, was in serious but stable condition as of Sunday. Billhimer did not disclose the identities of anyone in the Sentra.

A GoFundMe campaign created to help with funeral expenses and the cost of repatriating their bodies to El Salvador identified the driver as Maria Pleitez and daughter Dayanara Cortes. The campaign is accepting donations for the foundation, according to Meyer.

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A community shows support

The other driver, Raul Luna-Perez, 43, of Red Bank, was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto and is being held at the Ocean County Jail. Billhimer said first responders said Luna-Perez showed signs of impairment.

A blood sample was obtained with a court-authorized warrant. The results are pending.

The condition of two passengers in Luna-Perez's pickup was not disclosed.

The Lakewood Police Foundation is asking for monetary donations to help provide basic necessities, counseling and educational expenses for Pleitez's surviving 16-year-old daughter.

"The foundation and its members are in full support of the family who lost the mother and daughter in a tragic accident," Lakewood Police Chief Greg Meyer told New Jersey 101.5 in an email. "Our school resource supervisor has been in close contact with the 16-year-old and is working with family members."

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