District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan and City of Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott have announced the arrest of Jose Vladmir Jerez, 25, of Allentown, who is charged with in the 2024 death of a passenger in his car whom he allegedly abandoned after an accident.

At 6:50 p.m. Oct. 13, 2024, City of Bethlehem police were called to a single vehicle hit-and-run crash that struck a utility pole in the 700 block of Central Boulevard.

Officers found a silver sedan off the roadway up an embankment in a wooded area near the north side of the road. The car had severe damage and blood inside the vehicle, but officers were unable to locate the driver or any passengers.

The car was registered to a Bethlehem woman who was not involved in the crash.

Shortly after officers arrived at the crash scene, they were notified a crash victim had arrived for treatment at the emergency room of an area hospital. The victim was identified as Ezequiel Hernandez-Cartagena, 21, of Allentown.

Hernandez-Cartagena succumbed to blunt-force injuries at the hospital, and his death was ruled accidental by the Lehigh County Coroner.

During the course of the investigation, officers determined that before the crash, the victim and others were at an Allentown park with a man they only knew by the nickname “Los Ten.”

The group left the park in three different vehicles. The victim was the passenger inside the car driven by “Los Ten,” who was later identified as Jerez.

The witnesses said they saw Jerez driving the car, making an erratic movement to attempt to pass a vehicle in front of him. He lost control of the car and fled the wreckage.

Jerez is charged with Accidents Involving Death or Personal Injury, a felony of the second degree; Homicide by Vehicle, a felony of the third degree; misdemeanor charges of Involuntary Manslaughter, Recklessly Endangering Another Person and Receiving Stolen Property and summary charges of Reckless Driving, Driving on Roadways Laned for Traffic, Driving Vehicle at Safe Speed and Immediate Notice of Accident to Police Department – Injury or Death.

Jerez was in Lehigh County Jail on an unrelated matter and was arraigned today. Bail was set at $100,000 and the preliminary hearing was scheduled for 2 p.m. July 22 in Courtroom 1C.