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What is vehicular manslaughter? Situations that would warrant Vehicular Manslaughter Charges: You were driving a car that was involved in an accident, and unfortunately, some people lost their lives and you are now charged with vehicular manslaughter. Contact Us. Call Us. This is also known as vehicular homicide. These charges are often brought when the driver was operating their vehicle recklessly, carelessly, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or in an otherwise illegal manner.
Each state has its own specific definition of vehicular manslaughter. This charge is a relatively new addition to the category of homicide offenses.
Before vehicular manslaughter existed, drivers could receive a standard manslaughter charge, i. Juries had a hard time deciding on a manslaughter charge in the case of a car accident. The introduction of the vehicular manslaughter category helped to address this by offering lesser penalties than the manslaughter charge.
What kind of driving will typically result in a vehicular manslaughter charge? The answer to this question varies from state to state. However, the following situations will usually carry a vehicular manslaughter charge. Proving that a driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident is one way to demonstrate reckless driving.
Self-incriminating statements, eyewitness testimony, and chemical evidence like breath, blood, or urine tests can prove intoxication. Many states require prosecutors to show that the driving was actively careless, and proof of intoxication alone might not be enough to convict. Drivers who have blood alcohol levels of 0. Some states have different standards for different driver classes, for example commercial vehicles or young drivers. Drivers under the influence of prescribed drugs could also receive a vehicular manslaughter charge if their driving causes a death.
For example, if a driver takes medication and drives after their doctor warns them about the side effects, and the medication container has obvious and clear warnings not to drive while taking it. This may be enough to show that the driver acted negligently or recklessly. When someone dies as a result of this, the driver will not automatically face charges of vehicular manslaughter. Defendants who have a blood alcohol level of 0. But even if the reading is lower, prosecutors can meet the applicable negligence standard by providing evidence of the driving itself, in conjunction with the ingestion of drugs or alcohol.
Drivers who are under the influence of prescribed drugs may also be charged with vehicular manslaughter when their driving causes a highway death.
Consider the driver who takes medicine after being warned by the doctor of its side effects, when the medicine container itself contained clear and obvious warnings not to drive, and when the driver had prior experience with the drug's effects—this driver has acted negligently at least, and possibly even recklessly. 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. Passing vehicles in violation of "no passing" signs, driving beyond the posted speed limit, and performing illegal U-turns are similar examples.
States also single out specific violations of law that are not necessarily safety violations, but involve important interests. When a death results, vehicular manslaughter charges might result.
Under Iowa law, for example, a sober driver who causes a death while passing a stopped school bus commits a felony, while deaths caused by other types of reckless driving not involving DUI are punished as misdemeanors. Other states punish as felonies deaths caused by drivers attempting to elude police. 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. The question is whether the driver acted negligently or recklessly, depending on the state's standard when getting behind the wheel in such a condition.
For instance, a manslaughter charge might be appropriate when someone chooses to stay up all night, works all day, and attempts to drive home after being awake for more than 36 hours. Voluntarily putting oneself in a position so that one cannot stay awake, and then driving, is negligent behavior and possibly even recklessness.
It's very common for each driver involved in a car accident to share some of the responsibility—perhaps one car was going too fast, but the other car was, too. When blame and damages are sorted out in a civil context—who pays for what—courts often apportion the blame using the theory of "contributory negligence. In a criminal context, however, contributory negligence is rarely applied in vehicular manslaughter cases. For example, suppose the victim driver had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit, but the defendant instigated a drag racing manoeuver that resulted in the victim's death.
Most judges would not allow the jury to hear evidence about the deceased's blood alcohol level. In almost cases involving a vehicular homicide charge, the defendant is alleged to have been driving. In some instances, however, a prosecutor may charge a defendant with vehicular homicide even though it is undisputed that the defendant was not driving the vehicle involved in the victim's death.
A recent vehicular homicide case received national press coverage because the defendant was not the driver of the vehicle but was a pedestrian. Raquel Nelson was charged with second-degree vehicular homicide after her four-year old son A.
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