Gross vehicular manslaughter is a DUI homicide offense that occurs when you cause a fatal crash by operating a vehicle while intoxicated with drugs or alcohol. It requires your actions to be grossly negligent, making it a severely punished offense under the law. Under PC 191.5(a), the offense is a felony, attracting a maximum ten-year state prison sentence and a hefty court fine. It could also result in the suspension or revocation of your driver’s license and other life-changing consequences.
However, you can push for a favorable outcome in your case with the assistance of a skilled DUI attorney. Your attorney will advise you on your options, defend your rights, and offer legal representation. They will be by your side until you are satisfied with the outcome.
The Legal Meaning of Gross Vehicular Manslaughter While Intoxicated
Driving while intoxicated with drugs or alcohol is among the gravest offenses under California law. This is because of the extreme consequences that come after a DUI conviction. A simple DUI charge can result in imprisonment, a hefty court fine, and a possible suspension of your driver’s license. Causing an accident by driving while intoxicated and causing another person’s death will result in graver penalties. However, you can put up a solid defense against your charges to avoid the full consequences of your actions. An experienced DUI attorney can use the best fighting strategies to compel the judge to reduce or dismiss your charges.
PC 191.5(a) prohibits causing an accident by driving while intoxicated with drugs or alcohol and with gross negligence, causing a person’s death. You can commit this offense in numerous ways. Examples of actions that could result in charges and a possible conviction under this statute include the following:
- Losing control of a vehicle when driving while intoxicated and hitting a pedestrian, killing them instantly
- Stealing a vehicle while high on drugs and running a stop sign causing you to crash into another car, causing the driver to sustain fatal injuries.
Based on the facts of your case, the prosecutor will file charges under this statute. However, they must demonstrate the elements of this offense to obtain a guilty verdict. These elements include the following:
- That you were driving a vehicle when you were involved in an accident.
- You were intoxicated with drugs or alcohol.
- You committed an infraction, misdemeanor, or legal act that can cause another person to lose their life.
- You committed the infraction, misdemeanor, or lawful act with gross negligence.
- Your actions resulted in a person’s death.
Driving While Intoxicated
The first fact of the case the prosecutor must demonstrate is that you were driving while intoxicated. It could be that you were drunk or high on drugs, or your blood-alcohol content was above the required standard (0.08% for ordinary drivers, 0.004% for commercial drivers, and 0.001% for underage drivers). Remember that a higher than standard BAC is enough to obtain a DUI conviction even if the alcohol in your blood did not impair your driving abilities. The prosecutor can also demonstrate that you were driving while intoxicated, even without BAC test results. If you were driving recklessly or violated a traffic rule and failed the field sobriety tests, the court can find you guilty of a DUI.
An Infraction, Misdemeanor, or Lawful Act
The prosecutor must also demonstrate that you committed another act, an infraction, misdemeanor, or lawful act. The additional act must have the potential to cause a person’s death. The act is separate from drunken or drugged driving and should not be a felony. Examples include speeding, reckless driving, or running a red light. Although these are infractions or misdemeanors, they can cause a fatal accident.
Acting With Gross Negligence
The court will also need evidence that you were grossly negligent to find you guilty of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. Being grossly negligent is more than making a mistake in judgment or ordinary carelessness. Your actions are grossly negligent when you do the following:
- Your reckless actions put other people at an increased risk of great bodily harm or death.
- A reasonable driver would know that acting that way can cause a risk like that.
Driving while intoxicated and committing an infraction or misdemeanor already satisfies the requirement of acting with gross negligence. However, the prosecutor will consider other facts about your case to determine the level of negligence.
Example: After the party, Janet decides to drive home. Although her home is only a few miles from her current location, she is too drunk to drive. However, that does not stop her. To worsen the matter, she speeds and drives recklessly on the road. When the traffic slows down, she decides to overtake a few vehicles, which causes her to crash into an oncoming car, killing two of its three occupants and causing great bodily harm to the third one.
Janet's actions completely disregard other people’s safety and well-being. Thus, her actions are grossly negligent and could result in a conviction under PC 191.5(a).
If a prosecutor can demonstrate that your actions were grossly negligent and the facts of your case satisfy all the other elements of this offense, the court will deliver a guilty verdict.
A Fatal Accident
Charges under this statute will only apply if you cause an accident that results in another person losing their life. In this case, the person’s death should be a natural, probable, and direct outcome of your actions. Your actions do not have to be the sole cause of the death. However, your actions must be a substantial reason why the person lost their life.
Possible Penalties and Consequences of a Conviction Under PC 191.5(a)
Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated is a felony crime, punishable by these penalties:
- Felony probation
- Four, six, or ten years in a state prison
- A maximum court fine of $10,000
Sometimes, the judge issues a probation sentence instead of a prison sentence. However, you will be required to serve part of your sentence in jail. Felony probation lasts up to five years. Although probation seems more favorable than imprisonment, you must abide by strict five-year probation conditions. The judge sets these conditions during sentencing based on the facts of your case.
For example, the judge can order you to refrain from crime while on probation, to seek counseling and treatment for alcohol or drug addiction, and to perform community service for a predetermined period. You could also be required to pay restitution to the victims of your crime.
The judge can enhance your prison sentence in some circumstances. For example, if there is a prior conviction for the following crimes in your record, you could face a prison sentence of up to fifteen years:
- Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, under PC 191.5(a)
- Vehicular manslaughter with intoxication, under PC 191.5(b)
- Goss vehicular manslaughter under PC 192
- Vehicular manslaughter when driving a boat, unde PC 192.5
- Driving while intoxicated, under VC 23152
- Driving while intoxicated and causing an injury under VC 23153
Other consequences of a conviction apply when the judge finds you guilty under this statute. For example, you could lose your driving license. Since driving is a privilege in California, the DMV can take away that privilege if you violate the conditions of your driver’s license. Thus, the DMV can suspend your driving license for three years after a conviction for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. You must not operate any vehicle during the suspension period to avoid facing additional criminal charges and a complete license revocation.
A felony conviction under PC 191.5(a) will also affect your gun rights. If you are a licensed gun holder, you cannot possess, purchase, or use one after the conviction. The loss of your gun rights could be temporary for a few years or permanently.
A felony conviction will also affect other areas of your life, including your social and professional lives. You could lose the support of your family and friends, especially if you spend a long time in jail. Making new friends after serving time is usually a challenge. You could also lose your job or business after the conviction and face challenges finding a new one after serving time. Besides, most employers conduct background checks on potential employees before hiring. An employer can deny you a job opportunity based on what they find in your criminal record.
Fighting Your Charges for a Favorable Outcome
The good thing about the California criminal justice system is that it gives defendants a fair hearing to defend themselves against criminal charges. It ensures that the court’s verdict in a case is fair. This means that facing charges under PC 191.5(a) does not necessarily mean that you are guilty as charged. You can change the outcome of your case with the help of a skilled DUI attorney. Your attorney can use excellent legal strategies to defend your actions and compel the court to reduce or drop your charges. Examples of these strategies are:
You Were Not Intoxicated
Recall that the first element the prosecutor must demonstrate to obtain a guilty verdict is that you were driving while intoxicated with drugs or alcohol. You can challenge your charges if you are not high on drugs or alcohol. It could be that the police were mistaken, and something else caused you to appear impaired or high.
A defense like this creates reasonable doubt in the prosecutor’s case and could result in a case dismissal by the judge. A skilled attorney can argue that you were ill or exhausted or that your appearance was due to the shock you suffered after the accident. They can also provide test results to show zero traces of drugs or alcohol in your system.
A skilled attorney can also fight your BAC test results to fight the DUI charge. They can fight the accuracy of the BAC results or how the police collected and stored evidence. If the district attorney cannot prove that you were operating a vehicle while intoxicated, the judge can drop your charges.
Your Actions Were Not Grossly Negligent
A driver must constantly make critical and quick decisions on the road to stay safe and protect other road users. It is difficult for a prosecutor to demonstrate that some of these decisions are grossly negligent, even those that resulted in something terrible. You can make a wrong decision with the right intention, which does not make you a bad person. A skilled attorney can present such an argument to compel the judge to rule fairly, arguing that even if your actions were terrible, your intention was not to harm anyone.
If your attorney is successful, the judge can be lenient in delivering judgment. For example, you could be found guilty of ordinary negligence and receive a more lenient sentence.
Your Action Did Not Result in the Other Person’s Death
A conviction for gross vehicular manslaughter occurs when there is no doubt that your actions are the direct, probable, and natural cause of the person’s death. If that is not the case, the judge can drop your charges.
An experienced DUI attorney can introduce compelling evidence that something else, and not your actions, caused the other person’s death. For example, they can table an expert’s report detailing the weather or road conditions that contributed to the accident in which the person died. Other causes, like a vehicle’s mechanical failure or other road users, could have contributed to the accident. This could compel the judge to reduce your charges.
Find Competent DUI Defense Services Near Me
Charges for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated can result in life-changing consequences. In addition to a lengthy prison sentence and a hefty fine, you could lose your driving privileges, the possibility of finding suitable employment, and your gun rights. However, you can change the outcome of your case by putting up a solid defense.
Our competent attorneys at Jonathan Franklin DUI Attorney have extensive experience with all kinds of DUI cases. We can help you fight for your rights, understand your options, and develop a fighting strategy that could compel the judge to rule favorably in your case. Contact us at 323-464-6700 to start the legal journey with us if you face charges under PC 191.5(a) in Los Angeles.
