Murder or Manslaughter?!
Question:
Murder or Manslaughter?
If a person gets a DUI and is involved in an accident that killed the driver of the other car, should the charge be murder or manslaughter?
Same scenario but the person killed was a drunk passenger in the DUI car?
Answers:
In California, vehicular manslaughter may be charged when a driver causes an accident (either by violating a traffic law or by exercising negligence or “gross negligence”) and the accident causes the death of another person.
If alcohol was involved, prosecutors tend to charge the drinking party with vehicular manslaughter even if s/he was not at fault, and even if the accident was unavoidable.
If the vehicular manslaughter does not involve gross negligence, the prosecutor may charge it as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the circumstances. Vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence can only be charged as a felony.