A teen whom authorities accused of engaging in an illegal street race that killed an innocent motorist in Tarzana two years ago was convicted of felony vehicular manslaughter Thursday at …
Aug 12, 2020 · Grand jurors recently escalated the legal jeopardy for a doctor who allegedly killed a medical student in a drunken car crash. Dr. Jonathan Nakhla, 37, was previously charged with manslaughter ...
Jan 30, 2021 · YouTube/Grossman Burn Foundation/Getty. Months after a fatal hit-and-run took the lives of two boys in Los Angeles County’s Westlake Village, former Major League Baseball pitcher Scott Erickson has been charged with a misdemeanor count of reckless driving in connection with the crime. Investigators told ABC7 that Erickson was racing socialite ...
In most states, prosecutors must show that the driving itself was careless—in other words, mere proof of legal intoxication is insufficient. Florida, however, is a notable exception—in that state, the prosecutor need only show that the defendant's driving caused a death, and that the driver was intoxicated. (Fl. Stat. Section 860.01.)
In states that don't have specific vehicular homicide laws, a motorist who unintentionally causes the death of another person may face prosecution under the state's general homicide statutes. Depending on the jurisdiction and circumstances, a fatal car accident could result in the following charges:
Negligent homicide is generally the least serious crime associated with driving-related killings. A driver commits negligent homicide by causing the death of another person while driving in a criminally negligent manner.
Most states recognize "vehicular homicide" (also called "vehicular manslaughter" and "homicide by vehicle") as a separate class of homicide that applies exclusively to motorists who cause the death of another person while operating a vehicle. Depending on the jurisdiction, vehicular homicide might be defined as causing the death of another person while: 1 operating a vehicle in a negligent, grossly negligent, or reckless manner 2 in violation of the state's DUI laws, or 3 committing certain traffic offenses.
"Recklessly" is generally defined as consciously disregarding a "substantial and unjustifiable risk.". In other words, the driver was aware that the conduct posed a serious risk but engaged in ...
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol or Drugs. In many jurisdictions, a driver who causes the death of another person while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs commits vehicular homicide. In addition to the driver's intoxication, some states require proof of negligent driving. In other states, establishing ...
Gross negligence (also called "criminal negligence" or "culpable negligence") involves more egregious conduct than ordinary negligence. Typically, a driver is grossly negligent by failing to perceive a risk that will result from engaging in certain conduct.
Generally, negligent driving that causes death results in a misdemeanor, whereas fatalities resulting from driving recklessly or intoxicated are ordinarily felonies. Misdemeanor convictions typically carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail and felonies result in a sentence of one year or more in prison.
Vehicular manslaughter can also be charged when accidents happen after drivers violate a safety statute. For instance, many states require windshields to be clear. When a death results from the driver's inability to see through an obscured windshield, a manslaughter charge may follow.
In order to know whether a vehicular manslaughter charge is appropriate when a highway death results from an accident, you'll need to know exactly what kind of driving will trigger such a charge in your state. Here are the typical types of driving that state laws provide for.
Common defense strategies in vehicular manslaughter cases include attempts to exclude incriminating evidence, such as test results showing that the defendant was driving with a blood-alcohol level above 0.08. A defense attorney may argue that such evidence should be excluded because it was obtained in violation of the defendant's constitutional rights, or because law enforcement did not comply with procedures established for collecting the evidence.
Defendants who have a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher are presumed to be driving under the influence (some states set lower thresholds for certain classes of drivers, such as underage drivers and drivers of commercial vehicles).
Intoxication can be proved by eyewitness testimony, self-incriminating statements, and chemical evidence, including blood, breath, or urine tests. In most states, prosecutors must show that the driving itself was careless—in other words, mere proof of legal intoxication is insufficient.
Driving while sleepy or falling asleep. Many traffic accidents happen when drivers have fallen asleep at the wheel, or are extremely drowsy. But when someone dies as a result, the driver won't necessarily face vehicular manslaughter charges.
In Alabama, for example, a person convicted of vehicular manslaughter based on DUI faces a maximum of five years in prison, while a person in Minnesota convicted of the same offense faces up to thirty years' incarceration.
Lawyer Carlos Moore (left) claims his client Joshua Blount (right) is being unfairly prosecuted in the hot car death of his eight-month-old daughter Shania
In both cases, the parents were rushing to work. Neither was drunk or impaired and prosecutors have not alleged that either left their child in the car on purpose. Furthermore, the same Mississippi laws applied to both parents.