TOMS RIVER, NJ — Alejandro Huerta-Arias, 24, of Toms River, was sentenced Friday to eight years in New Jersey State Prison for vehicular homicide following a 2022 crash that killed Mark Mandel, 32, of Lakewood, according to Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer.
The sentence, handed down by Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari, is subject to the No Early Release Act (NERA), requiring Huerta-Arias to serve at least 85 percent of his term before being eligible for parole. He was found guilty on March 18 after a nearly two-week jury trial.
The fatal crash occurred on March 9, 2022, around 8:15 a.m. at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Courtney Road in Lakewood Township. Investigators determined that Huerta-Arias, driving a 2012 Infiniti G35, struck Mandel’s 2008 Chevrolet Impala as Mandel attempted a left turn.
The impact forced Mandel’s vehicle into a traffic signal, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Huerta-Arias sustained a fractured leg and was hospitalized at Jersey Shore University Medical Center.
An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and Lakewood Police revealed that Huerta-Arias was driving at an average speed of 93 miles per hour—more than double the posted 40 mph limit.
Huerta-Arias was charged with vehicular homicide on June 7, 2022, and surrendered to Lakewood Police that day. Though initially released under New Jersey Bail Reform, he was remanded to the Ocean County Jail following his conviction in March.
Prosecutor Billhimer praised the work of Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Burke, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crime Unit-Vehicular Homicide Squad, Lakewood Police, and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Crime Scene Investigation Unit for their roles in securing the conviction and sentence.
