After nearly three years of legal proceedings, justice has been served in the tragic death of R’ Feivy Mandel z”l, a 32-year-old Lakewood father.
Alejandro Huerta-Arias, 24, of Toms River, was found guilty of Vehicular Homicide on Tuesday, convicted for his reckless actions that led to the fatal March 9, 2022, crash in Lakewood.
The verdict, announced by Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, came after a nearly two-week trial before Judge Dina M. Vicari, J.S.C. The jury determined beyond a reasonable doubt that Huerta-Arias’ reckless driving at more than double the speed limit was directly responsible for Mandel’s death.
Huerta-Arias now faces up to ten years in New Jersey State Prison, subject to the No Early Release Act, when he is sentenced on May 16, 2025.
The crash that killed R’ Feivy unfolded on March 9, 2022, at approximately 8:15 AM at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Courtney Road.
Investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Homicide Unit and the Lakewood Township Police Department Traffic Safety Unit determined that Huerta-Arias was racing down Madison Avenue at a staggering 93 miles per hour—more than twice the posted 40 mph limit—when he plowed into Mandel’s vehicle.
Mandel, who was behind the wheel of a 2008 Chevrolet Impala, had been attempting to make a left-hand turn onto Courtney Road when Huerta-Arias’ 2012 Infiniti G35 slammed into him with devastating force. The impact was so violent that Mandel’s car was launched into a traffic signal.
He was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
Huerta-Arias, meanwhile, suffered a fractured leg and was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune for treatment.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, Huerta-Arias was not immediately jailed following his arrest. Authorities charged him with Vehicular Homicide on June 7, 2022, and he surrendered himself to police that same day. However, due to New Jersey’s controversial bail reform laws, he was released from custody shortly after.