Restart hardhat JSON-RPC server from Node.js code

I'm using hardhat to forking the Ethereum mainnet and run some tests on it. In one terminal I start the server with:

npx hardhat node --fork https://eth-mainnet.alchemyapi.io/v2/$API_KEY

In another terminal I have Node.js code running. I need to periodically resync the network with mainnet. What is the best way to launch and terminate the hardhat server directly from the Node.js code?

I'm currently using the hardhat_reset command to force resync with the latest block, however this is not reliable enough, as the server code appears to enter bad state and transactions stop working.

const hre = require('hardhat');

async function test() {
    const block = parseInt(await web3.eth.getBlockNumber());
    await hre.network.provider.request({
        method: "hardhat_reset",
        params: [{forking: {
            jsonRpcUrl: ALCHEMY_URL,
            blockNumber: block,
        }}]
    });
}