Fugitive Indicted In Route 70 Crash That Killed Van Passenger

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Authorities are searching for a Lakewood man who has been indicted in a fatal crash that happened in Manchester in August 2025, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office said Thursday.

Luis Vazquez-Hernandez, 27, of Lakewood, was indicted Wednesday by an Ocean County grand jury on a charge of vehicular homicide in the Aug. 11 crash on Route 70 that killed Ramon Orellana-Asturias, 65, of Toms River, Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Orellana-Asturias, whose identity had not been released previously by authorities, was riding in the cargo area of a 2014 Dodge van that was headed west on Route 70, the prosecutor's office said.

The Dodge was waiting to make a left turn onto Hilltop Road when a 2017 Ford Sprinter van driven by Vazquez-Hernandez, which also was headed west, crossed the double-yellow line into opposing traffic, passed stopped vehicles from behind and hit the Dodge, the prosecutor's office said.

The driver of the Dodge and two additional passengers were injured and taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center, authorities said. They were released sometime later, authorities said.

Orellana-Asturias died at the scene, they said.

Vazquez-Hernandez was taken to Community Medical Center in Toms River for treatment of minor injuries and released, the prosecutor's office said.

He was charged with multiple motor vehicle violations including reckless driving, careless driving, speeding, and improper passing, the prosecutor's office said, and on Aug. 18, 2025, was charged with vehicular homicide.

He remains a fugitive from justice, and his name has been entered into the National Crime Information Center database, authorities said.

Authorities initially said the Dodge driver had been the one to pass over the double- yellow line but confirmed to Patch that the crash description had been updated since the initial information was released.