What are You Facing if Charged with Vehicular Manslaughter?
California Penal Code 192(c) PC vehicular manslaughter charges can be filed against someone when they drive negligently or unlawfully, causing the death of another person.
Put simply, if someone was killed in a car accident in California, you might be facing vehicular manslaughter charges if you were driving negligently or doing something illegal.
The penalties for a PC 192(c) vehicular manslaughter conviction are significant and should not be taken lightly. They depend on the level of negligence, such as ordinary or gross, whether you were driving under the influence and your prior record.
An example of vehicular manslaughter includes a situation where someone driving a vehicle is speeding or driving in a reckless manner that causes a car collision that kills the other driver.
As noted, a primary factor in prosecuting a vehicular manslaughter case is whether the driver acted with ordinary or gross negligence. Our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers will review these laws below to help readers better understand them.
Ordinary or Gross Negligence
In California, gross negligence is described as the lack of care or an extreme departure from what a reasonably careful person would do in a similar situation to prevent harm to oneself or others.”
Gross negligence is more severe than ordinary negligence but not as extreme as recklessness.
There is no complex legal definition of when somebody has acted grossly negligent, but it is generally described as:
- great negligence,
- an extreme departure from ordinary behavior and
- failure to exercise care that even a careless person would use.
If you cause someone's death while driving in the commission of a lawful act but ordinary negligence, it's also considered vehicular manslaughter.
Ordinary negligence is not as severe as gross negligence and is generally described as the following:
- you did something a reasonably careful person would not do in the same situation or
- you failed to do something that a reasonable, careful person would have done in the same situation.
An example includes a situation where you were distracted and ran a stop sign that struck and killed a bicyclist.
Thorough Review of the Details of the Case
This is a widespread crime in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley because so many drivers are on the road. It's such a vast metropolis, and there are accidents.
People are seriously hurt. People are killed, and a lot of times, people end up getting charged with vehicular manslaughter.
There are a bunch of different charges that can follow when you're on the road, you become involved in an accident, and somebody dies. It just depends on:
- what was happening just before the subject accident;
- were you racing?
- were you speeding?
- were you intoxicated by alcohol?
Or was it just a simple accident? If it was, you really shouldn't be charged with vehicular manslaughter or accused of a crime. Sometimes, accidents happen.
They happen constantly, especially with this many cars in the greater Los Angeles area. So, vehicular manslaughter is usually not the proper charge under those circumstances.
Acting in a Highly Dangerous Manner
But prosecutors, police officers, attorneys—the other side—often try to claim that it's more than just an accident.
Put simply, you were doing something hazardous to the public, and if you're doing something dangerous to the public and you were racing or were intoxicated, or you were driving dangerously, and somebody dies.
If the prosecution can prove gross negligence, as discussed above, they will be in a position to charge you with Penal Code 192(c) PC vehicular manslaughter.
If that happens, then the most severe punishments come into play. For example:
- you can be sent to prison;
- you can lose your driver's license for a significant period;
- your record will be marked;
- you also subject yourself civilly to being sued by the family of the person who was killed.
So, these vehicular manslaughter charges are severe, and it is, believe it or not, splitting hairs a lot of times whether someone is going to be charged with vehicular manslaughter versus Penal Code 187 PC second-degree murder versus Penal Code 192(b) involuntary manslaughter.
The crime of involuntary manslaughter is a more negligent act, and somebody dies versus no crime at all, where someone just basically did something wrong, or maybe the accident is nobody's fault.
Maybe it's the fault of the individual who passed away. That's where we start to get involved with defenses in vehicular manslaughter cases.
Best Defenses for Vehicular Manslaughter Cases
One of the defenses is I'm not the one who caused the accident that led to the death. If you can prove that some other force caused the accident, the person that ended up dying themselves, maybe some third party, maybe some act of nature.
So, the prosecutors first have to prove that you caused the accident. The next question is, you have to be the one who causes death.
What if you get involved in an accident and the person is not wearing their seatbelt while driving an unsafe vehicle? If they were driving a safe car, then the death would not have occurred.
So, there's a whole bunch of issues surrounding these vehicular manslaughter cases. I divide them into two categories. One category is those vehicular manslaughter cases where someone is driving with alcohol or drugs in their system or a combination of both.
Those are probably the worst categories; you will be sent to prison and subject to the worst punishment.
The other category is negligence. Someone is acting negligently — speeding, making some illegal maneuver — something they don't intend. Still, they should be more careful, and tragically, a death occurs.
Then there are those cases that I think are kind of in the middle, like street racing (link), for example, or speeding too fast or driving recklessly. You don't mean to kill anybody, but it's foreseeable. You should realize that if you're going to drive like that, somebody could die, and you're going to be held responsible for it.
So, if you or a loved one is charged with vehicular manslaughter in Los Angeles County, pick up the phone. Make the call. Ask for a meeting with Ron Hedding. I stand ready to help you. Hedding Law Firm has two office locations in LA County and offers a free case evaluation.
