Atlantic County Crash, in which a sleeping boy was killed, leads to the driver's 15-year prison sentence

A man from Atlantic County, who killed a boy in a drunk accident, was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

According to the public prosecutor's office at Atlantic County in July 2023, the 26 -year -old Edward Johnston traveled a parked vehicle along Route 30 in Absecon in July 2023 at 107 miles per hour.

The crash killed the 8-year-old Javier “Javi” Velez from Philadelphia, who slept in the parked car, while his father and brother fished nearby around 3:25 a.m.

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Johnston, who had drunk in several bars on the night of the crash, had a blood alcohol level of 0.122%a few hours after the crash, the public prosecutor said in a statement. The condition limit for poisoning is 0.08%.

“Marijuana was also discovered in his system and found in his vehicle,” says the explanation.

It added that the investigators “believe that Johnston wrote an SMS at the time of the collision”.

In February 2025, Johnston admitted to tightening tightened manslaughter and driving under influence. It should serve almost 13 years before the authorization.

An online appeal that wanted to help Javi's family with funeral costs described the boy as “so full of life and love”.

The parents of the child, Kaylah Smith and Orlando Velez, “held passionate speeches in the conviction in the name of their son,” said the public prosecutor on May 13. “They spoke of their grief and the effects that this avoidable crime had on their whole family.”

The parents and supporters had previously protested the decision of a judge to publish Johnston from the custody process.

The public prosecutor found that the proposed legislation would assume a presumption of pre -judicial imprisonment for intoxicating drivers who are charged with ruthless or strict liability murder.

The measure sponsored by local legislators would also prescribe the driver's license setting and a possible vehicle decline in the event of conviction.

Jim Walsh is a senior reporter of the Kurier post, the Burlington County Times and the Daily Journal. E -mail: jwalsh@cpsj.com.

This article originally appeared in Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Javi Velez, 8, slept in a parked car that was hit by a drunk driver