A New Jersey man will spend over a decade in prison for a drunk driving crash that killed a young boy two summers ago.

In February, 25-year-old Edward Johnston admitted guilt to charges of aggravated manslaughter and driving under the influence in the Atlantic County Superior Court, addressing all accusations levied against him.

This Tuesday, Judge Joseph Levin handed down a 15-year prison sentence to Johnston. He is required to serve at least 12 years and nine months in confinement before qualifying for parole.

But authorities insist the case is, in a sense, not yet over.

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On a warm evening, July 23, 2023, 8-year-old Javier “Javi” Velez tragically lost his life while sleeping in the back of his father’s car. The family was on a fishing outing, and the car was parked well off from Absecon Boulevard in the small town of Absecon, located under 10 miles west of Atlantic City.

While the other members of the Velez family, who were visiting from Philadelphia, fished mere feet away at a creek, an out-of-control car bounded off the White Horse Pike around 3:25 a.m. and, traveling well past the shoulder of the road, slammed into the parked car.

“Wake me up when we get home,” Javi had told his father before he went to sleep in the car, according to in-court testimony during the sentencing hearing by BreakingAC.

Instead, he died that Sunday night, instantly, from the impact — just two weeks and one day after turning 8 years old.

Johnston was arrested while still significantly drunk — with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .122 “several hours after” the incident — and with marijuana found in both his system and vehicle, according to a press release issued by the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office.

The defendant, who hails from affluent Egg Harbor City, had been drinking all night at bars in nearby Atlantic City. He was traveling at 107 mph, 57 miles over the speed limit, at the time he lost control.

“Investigators believe Johnston may have been texting at the time of the collision,” the prosecutor’s office said in the press release.

The defendant, for his part, did not flee and admitted to drinking heavily in the hours before the incident.

Johnston was charged with one count each of aggravated manslaughter in the first degree and driving under the influence.

In spite of a detention request by the prosecution, the defendant was quickly granted pre-trial release by the judge overseeing the case. That bail decision sparked significant public outrage — and a movement to change Garden State law.