Vehicular manslaughter in Nevada
is one of the most violent crimes that can happen in the State. While this is
so, a death of a person caused by a vehicular manslaughter actually holds the
mildest consequence in the State which is a misdemeanor. How this happens and
other easy-to-digest information about vehicular manslaughter can be found below.
Legal definition of vehicular manslaughter in Nevada
According to the Nevada Revised
Statutes or NRS
484B.657, vehicular manslaughter is when a person “while driving or in
actual physical control of any vehicle, proximately causes the death of another
person…”
Despite this, vehicular manslaughter in Nevada
is not the worst kind of murder through a vehicle as it happens due to
misjudgment of the driver and not because of utter negligence or premeditation.
One example is texting while driving. The driver does not have clear aim to
harm people and might have just only peeked at a message at the time of the
event.
It is different from reckless
driving in which a driver navigates the road with a “wanton disregard” to the
safety of others. Examples of reckless driving are:
- Unlawfully passing red lights
- Driving beyond the speed limit
- Racing with other vehicles
- Taunting other drivers
- Doing makeup inside the vehicle
- Performing other tasks that takes away full attention from driving soundly
Vehicular manslaughter in Nevada is also dissimilar from vehicular homicide
despite them seemingly interchangeable. Vehicular homicide is premeditated or a
cause of other offenses such as an increased blood alcohol content and therefore results to felony charges.
Punishment for vehicular manslaughter in Nevada
As we stated above, anyone who is
guilty of vehicular manslaughter shall be charged with a misdemeanor. This
means:
- Six months in jail
- Fines up to $1,000
- 355 days of driver’s license suspension
Some of the defenses you can use to
circumvent punishment for
vehicular manslaughter are the following:
- You were mistaken as the driver who caused the death
- The collision was not the cause of the victim’s death
- The victim was also responsible for his death e.g. he or she stepped in the highway unlawfully
If faced with reckless driving or to
an extent, vehicular homicide, you can use vehicular manslaughter as defense to
reduce your charges. You could point out that your miscalculation while driving
is not in the level of oversight found in reckless driving.
Being charged with vehicular manslaughter in Nevada
can be traumatic as you are charged with the death of a person you never
intended at all. Have a Las Vegas DUI
lawyer by your side in times like these to ensure that you will get what is
only justified!