Chester County Homicide by Vehicle DUI
75 Pa.C.S. § 3735 is the statute for this crime in Chester County. It states,
Criminal negligence was the level of culpable state of mind required to convict a defendant of homicide by vehicle when driving under the influence. Commonwealth v. Samuels, 566 Pa. 109, 778 A.2d 638, 2001 Pa. LEXIS 1854 (2001). In some cases, meeting that level is difficult. In Commonwealth v. Lenhart, a conviction for homicide by vehicle under 75 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3735, was reversed because the evidence only established that intoxication was the most likely cause of the accident and causation must be established beyond a reasonable doubt.Any person who unintentionally causes the death of another person as the result of a violation of section 3802 (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance) and who is convicted of violating section 3802 is guilty of a felony of the second degree when the violation is the cause of death and the sentencing court shall order the person to serve a minimum term of imprisonment of not less than three years. A consecutive three-year term of imprisonment shall be imposed for each victim whose death is the result of the violation of section 3802.
Additional Thoughts and Cases
In Commonwealth v. Nicotra, the defendant's convictions for vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, were affirmed because the evidence was sufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant's intoxication and reckless driving were the cause of the fatal accident. But, the jury must be instructed to look at the other driver/pedestrian's behavior. A conviction for homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, in accordance with 75 Pa. C.S. § 3735(a), was reversed where jury was improperly instructed to disregard the contributory negligence of the victim, who was also under the influence of alcohol. Commonwealth v. Molinaro, 429 Pa. Super. 29, 631 A.2d 1040, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3146 (1993). This would be a particular angle for a Chester County DUI lawyer, who would seek to convince a jury that the intoxication wasn't the sole reason for the homicide/death.
Evidence was sufficient to support a conviction for homicide by vehicle while DUI as, although there was an eleven-hour time lapse between the accident and the blood test, a forensic expert testified to a reasonable degree of certainty that defendant's BAC was at least 0.08 percent at the time of the accident, defendant admitted that he had an accident while drunk, officers found an open bottle of beer in the car, and another witness testified that defendant appeared intoxicated a few hours before the accident. Commonwealth v. Cruz, 2013 PA Super 195, 71 A.3d 998, 2013 Pa. Super. LEXIS 1660 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013).