An Ocean County man was sentenced to four years in prison Friday for a motor vehicle crash from 2020 in Berkeley Township that left a woman severely injured, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said Saturday.
William Andujar, 52, of Whiting pleaded guilty in December 2023 to aggravated assault in the accident after it was discovered he was under the influence of alcohol and methadone at the time of the incident, authorities said.
On Nov. 2, 2020, Berkeley Township police responded to a crash on West Pinewald Keswick Road at approximately 7 p.m. An investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office’s major crimes and vehicular homicide unit found that Andujar was traveling westbound and rear-ended another car driven by a 44-year-old South Toms River woman, authorities said.
The impact forced both vehicles off the road and into a wooded area, officials said. The woman sustained serious injuries and was airlifted to Jersey Shore Medical Center in Neptune for treatment and later released from the hospital, but is still recovering from her injuries, officials said.
Andujar was also injured in the crash and taken to Jersey Shore Medical Center where a warrant was obtained to draw blood for a sobriety test, authorities said. Lab results indicated that Andujar’s blood alcohol level at the time blood was drawn was .18, well over the state’s legal limit of .08, according to authorities Saturday. Officials said that a significant amount of methadone was found in Andujar’s system as well.
Andujar was subsequently arrested on Nov. 24, 2020 and charged with assault by automobile, authorities said. He was later charged with aggravated assault on Dec. 8, 2020 as a result of “further developments in the investigation,” the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Andujar has been lodged in the Ocean County Jail since his arrest in November 2020 and must serve 85% of his sentence under the No Early Release Act. He was given an additional one-year sentence Friday to be served consecutively for probation violations, officials said.
An attorney for Andujar was not immediately reachable Saturday.
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Matthew Enuco may be reached at Menuco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow Matt on X
