What is the Criminal Sentence for Vehicular Homicide?
We all know how treacherous driving on Interstate 4 can be. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Orange County has the dubious distinction of the highest number of crashes per capita, 17.55 per estimated 1,000 people, across the ten Central Florida counties.
Most crashes with injuries and some fatalities are handled by your attorney through insurance company negotiations or a civil lawsuit to collect money to cover losses. But sometimes, Orange County sheriff’s deputies or the Orlando Police Department will charge a motorist with a crime. Severe penalties can attach for vehicular homicide, a second-degree felony in Florida. The difference between a civil and criminal charge turns on the behavior of the motorist who causes the accident. But how do you tell the difference?
Recklessness
Under Florida Statutes § 775.071, behavior amounting to recklessness is, when assessing the circumstances, acting in a way that is bound to cause great bodily injury or death. Reckless behavior is more egregious than negligence. Under this definition, crashing while messing with the car radio is negligence, but drag racing at 110 mph on International Drive or driving with a blood alcohol concentration above 0.08 is almost certain to cause a horrific crash, and thus is reckless. Incidentally, driving drunk is charged as DUI manslaughter under the umbrella of vehicular homicide, and is also a second-degree felony.
Penalties for Vehicular Homicide
Second-degree felonies in Florida, under Fla. Stat. § 775.082, send convicted individuals to prison for up to 15 years. The judge has wide discretion and can also order up to 15 years’ probation and as much as a $10,000 fine. The charges rise to a first-degree aggravated felony if the offending driver flees the scene of a vehicular homicide. A conviction for a first-degree felony leads to up to 30 years in state prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
A second-degree felony for vehicular homicide is a Level 7 offense in Florida’s sentencing guidelines and those convicted will spend at least nine years and three months in state prison, although judges can veer from the guidelines for mitigating factors and will sentence to the higher end of the guidelines for aggravating circumstances. Those convicted of vehicular homicide will also lose their driving privileges for three years.
Mitigating and Aggravating Factors
Judges can order incarceration below the nine years, three months provision in the sentencing guidelines when the person convicted can show redeemable behavior in the past. A good defense attorney will argue as many attributes as possible to get the least amount of prison time for a client. Mitigating factors include:
- No criminal history
- A stable, loving family life
- A stable work history
- Good social and community connections
Conversely, the prosecution will argue aggravating circumstances to tempt the judge into the longest sentence possible. Aggravating factors include:
- A long criminal history
- Abuse of drugs or alcohol
- A history of criminal convictions
- Spotty work history
- Lifetime recidivism
As gloomy as these penalties sound, if you have been charged with vehicular homicide, our firm offers the skilled assistance you need to fight for your future. We stress mitigating factors, but also build a defense tailored to rebut the prosecutor’s charges. Remember, the state has a very high hurdle to jump by proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This means the jury must believe there is no other conclusion but that the accused committed the crime.
Call a Defense Attorney to Handle a Vehicular Homicide Case and Avoid a Criminal Sentence
Vehicular homicide in Florida is based on one motorist being killed in a crash caused by the reckless behavior of another motorist. The penalties for a conviction can be steep and life-altering, but they may not have to be. With the right attorney standing by you, all facts that mitigate the sentence, or point to investigative error, innocence, or grounds for dismissal will be presented to the jury. Call us and discuss your defense strategy so you can hopefully avoid a criminal sentence for vehicular homicide.
