For any driver, facing a charge for
drunk driving such as a DUI or DWI can lead to serious consequences. However,
the challenges become graver still, if you are charged with some type of
vehicular homicide, when a person is killed
due to a collision, when you are under the influence of alcohol.
What
is Vehicular Homicide?
Vehicular homicide is defined as a
specific offense in many states, with the important factors being…
·
A
homicide was committed
·
By
a motor vehicle
·
The
driver was impaired by consumption of alcohol, during the accident
According to drunk driving accident
lawyers, not all killing of individuals are crimes. For the most part, there
are main differences among various kinds of crimes. Some of them are…
·
Murder
involves spite, and some states include deaths caused by DUI in the definition
of murder.
·
Manslaughter
signifies intent to kill but without malice, reckless actions that are grossly
negligent and wanton, that cause a death to a person without the intent to
kill. Manslaughter offenses can be classified by degree, or by a distinction
between manslaughter that is either voluntary or involuntary.
·
Some
states have a lesser offense termed criminally negligent homicide, when an
individual caused the death of another, by operating a motor vehicle in a
manner that is negligent, although the circumstances did not tend to be manslaughter
or a murder offense.
To learn about the manslaughter and
murder offenses as stipulated by your home state, it is wise to contact a drunk
driving accident lawyer in your area. You can do that using this site: http://drunk-driving-accident.usattorneys.com/.
There are some crimes you cannot turn
your back on. There are some things you do that can cause irreparable harm. There
are sometimes when you have to admit that the police are right and you are
wrong. There are some actions that you may have taken that society just cannot
write off. A drunk driving accident that leads to someone’s death could fall
under these categories. But it does not mean the world is over for you. It does
not mean your life should be forfeited.
There could be mitigating
circumstances. The other driver could be at fault. Someone in your car may have
hit your arm when you were driving. Someone could have spiked your drink. You
need legal help and the links above and below will take you to a website that
can offer you tremendous lawyer you need right about now.
Proof
of Vehicular Homicide
The crucial factor in any case of
vehicular homicide is to prove the state of intoxication of the driver, and it
is this condition that is the proximate cause of the death. A driver's legal
representative or drunk driving accident attorney might begin an independent
investigation on the accident, and try to eliminate the fault of the driver in
the accident altogether. In fact the defense lawyer as well as the police will
want to answer the following questions:
·
If
the defendant is really the driver of the motor vehicle?
·
If
the defendant-driver is intoxicated when the accident occurred?
·
If
the defendant-driver's state of intoxication caused the accident? There might
also be attempts made to relegate fault to third parties such as the driver's
passengers, companions, or the person/s who provided alcohol to the driver.
·
If
the defendant-driver's vehicle was really involved in the accident?
The defense as well as the prosecution
will depend upon various categories of evidence such as:
·
Proof
from the scene of the accident, such as physical evidence, photographs of the
accident scene as well as the interior of the vehicle, measurements, along with
street markings
·
Identification
of the driver who was involved in the vehicular accident
·
Testimony
from crash investigator or re-constructionist
·
Testimony
of an expert witness as to the important question of whether an accident or
crime has happened based on the question whether the driver’s state of
intoxication is the proximate cause of the accident.
No comments:
Post a Comment