VEHICULAR CRIMES DEFINITIVE GUIDE

All You Need to Know About Vehicular Crimes in Phoenix & Scottsdale, AZ

LEGAL REPRESENTATION & COUNSEL FOR VEHICULAR INCIDENTS IN PHOENIX, SCOTTSDALE ARIZONA

Vehicular incidents involve accidents where it is alleged a person was driving impaired, driving in a reckless manner or failing to remain at the scene of an accident. In this definitive guide, we will cover the two main vehicular crimes: vehicular aggravated assault and  vehicular manslaughter or homicide.

Vehicular assault is typically charged when there is a car accident, a person is severely injured, and the cause of the accident was impairment by alcohol or drugs. Less often, it is charged in cases where there is no impairment, but extremely reckless driving is alleged.

Vehicular assault is Arizona’s criminal version of a car accident. The crime is specifically called Vehicular Aggravated Assault (sometimes just Aggravated Assault).

Arizona does not have a specific law for vehicular assault. The crime requires violating a combination of several statutes. A starting point is our state’s felony assault law (called Aggravated Assault).

As defined A.R.S. 13-1203, states a person commits misdemeanor assault by:

1. Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing any physical injury to another person; or

2. Intentionally placing another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury; or

3. Knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure, insult or provoke such person.

If any of the criteria as defined in A.R.S. 13-1203 are met, A.R.S. 13-1203 provides eleven circumstances for aggravated assault.  In vehicular assault cases, the three (3) most likely to apply are:

1. Serious physical injury

2. Deadly weapon or dangerous instrument

3. Temporary but substantial disfigurement

Manslaughter requires the government to prove that the person recklessly caused the death of another person. See § 13-1103. These cases are frequently DUI related homicides. Manslaughter is a class 2 felony.

• Recklessly Cause Death: A person commits manslaughter if they recklessly causes the death of another person. The phrase manifesting extreme indifference to human life doesn’t add an additional culpable mental state but only requires an extreme form of recklessness that is greater than is required for manslaughter. 
• Extreme Indifference to Human Life: Whether or not such an “extreme indifference’ to human life exists is to be determined from all the facts and circumstances surrounding the vehicular homicide.”
• Distracted Driving | Driving While Sleepy | Falling Asleep

Voluntary Manslaughter

A conviction for voluntary manslaughter requires evidence of an unlawful (unjustified) killing without malice (without the intent to kill), upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion. State v. McIntyre 106 Ariz. 439, 477 P.2d 529 (1970)

Reckless Manslaughter

Reckless manslaughter involves being aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that one's conduct will cause another's death and consciously disregarding that risk.  State v. Walton, 133 Ariz. 282, 650 P.2d 1264 (App. 1982)

The culpable mental state of recklessness is less than the intentional conduct required for an attempted manslaughter conviction. State v. Ruiz, 340 P.3d 396 (App. 2014)

Second-Degree Murder

The difference between second-degree murder and manslaughter is the degree of “recklessness” that is attributable to a person’s conduct. On one hand, a person commits second-degree murder if “[u]nder circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to human life, the person recklessly engages in conduct that creates a grave risk of death and thereby causes the death of another person.”

Negligent Homicide

For more information about our Scottsdale DUI lawyer, call our office at (602)-494-3444 or visit our contact page.