A Lakewood man has been sentenced to state prison following two serious motor vehicle incidents in Ocean County, including a high-speed crash that critically injured an off-duty police officer, county prosecutors announced Friday.

Ocean County Prosecutor Brad Billhimer said Edwin Ramirez-Carranza, 21, was sentenced on Friday to five years in New Jersey State Prison in connection with a 2024 eluding case in Lakehurst and a separate 2025 aggravated assault case stemming from a violent crash in Lakewood Township.

Under the sentence, Ramirez-Carranza received five years for eluding police during an Oct. 8, 2024 incident on Route 70 in Lakehurst. Judge Fritch also imposed a six-month suspension of Ramirez-Carranza’s driving privileges related to that offense.

In a separate matter, Judge Fritch sentenced Ramirez-Carranza to an additional five years in state prison for aggravated assault related to a high-speed crash that occurred on April 19, 2025, at the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Cedar Bridge Avenue in Lakewood Township. That sentence is subject to New Jersey’s No Early Release Act, requiring Ramirez-Carranza to serve at least 85 percent of the term before becoming eligible for parole.

The two prison sentences will run concurrently.

Ramirez-Carranza pleaded guilty to both charges on Dec. 1, 2025. At sentencing, he also pleaded guilty to underage driving while intoxicated related to the Lakehurst incident. As a result, Judge Fritch imposed an additional 30-day suspension of his driving privileges.

According to prosecutors, Lakehurst Borough police officers observed a three-car crash on Route 70 on Oct. 8, 2024, after which all three vehicles attempted to flee the scene. Officers attempted to stop a Chevrolet Silverado driven by Ramirez-Carranza, but he refused to pull over and fled. His vehicle was eventually disabled and forced to stop in traffic.

Officers reported that Ramirez-Carranza showed signs of intoxication and failed standardized field sobriety tests. Breath testing later revealed a blood alcohol content above the legal limit for an underage driver. He was charged with eluding and driving under the influence, taken into custody, and later released under New Jersey’s bail reform guidelines.

The more serious case stemmed from an early-morning crash on April 19, 2025. Lakewood Township police responded to a report of a crash with serious injuries and found a Honda Civic in the roadway and a Chevrolet Silverado in a drainage basin.

Investigators determined that Ramirez-Carranza, driving the Silverado, ran a red light on New Hampshire Avenue and struck the Honda Civic traveling on Cedar Bridge Avenue. The Civic was driven by an off-duty Lakewood Township police officer who had just completed his shift.

The officer was transported to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with serious injuries and was later released following treatment. Investigators found that Ramirez-Carranza’s vehicle was traveling at approximately 106 miles per hour seconds before the crash.

Ramirez-Carranza was also taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center for treatment. He was later charged with aggravated assault and multiple motor vehicle violations. He has been held at the Ocean County Jail since April 20, 2025.