Hit-and-Run Kills Tennessee Man
A man from Clinton, Tennessee died this past Wednesday night after a car struck him as he was crossing the street in Lexington, Kentucky. Police are still searching for the driver, who fled the scene. This is a classic and tragic example of what is known as a hit-and-run. From both a criminal law and injury law standpoint, commission of a hit-and-run is one of the absolute worst decisions that someone can make while driving a vehicle. The personal injury consequences are discussed in today’s blog on www.tennesseeinjurylawyerblog.com while this article deals with the criminal consequences of a hit-and-run.
A hit-and-run can give rise to a number of criminal offenses, the most serious of which is vehicular homicide (assuming the hit-and-run was not planned beforehand). T.C.A. section 39-13-213 defines vehicular homicide in the following manner:
- (a) Vehicular homicide is the reckless killing of another by the operation of an automobile, airplane, motorboat or other motor vehicle, as the proximate result of:
- Conduct creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a person;
- The driver's intoxication, as set forth in section 55-10-401. For the purposes of this section, “intoxication” includes alcohol intoxication as defined by section 55-10- 408, drug intoxication, or both; or
- As the proximate result of conduct constituting the offense of drag racing as prohibited by title 55, chapter 10, part 5.
Violation of subsections (1) or (3) is a Class C felony, punishable by up to fifteen years in prison. Violation of subsection (2) is a Class B felony, punishable by up to thirty years in prison. Clearly, Tennessee feels like driving while intoxicated is an aggravating circumstance that warrants a much stiffer penalty than simply driving recklessly or drag racing, although these are punished harshly as well under the statute.
There is also the possibility that the charge can be upgraded to aggravated vehicular homicide if the driver has two or more prior convictions for DUI or vehicular assault, a previous vehicular homicide conviction, or the driver’s blood alcohol concentration was .20% or more and the driver has a previous DUI or vehicular homicide conviction. Aggravated vehicular homicide is a Class A felony, punishable by up to sixty years in prison. While vehicular homicide is the most serious offense a driver who commits a hit-and-run is likely to be charged with, there are also a number of alternate and lesser included offenses that a driver guilty of such conduct may be charged with given the circumstances, including: reckless homicide, criminally negligent homicide, vehicular assault, and reckless endangerment.
Source: http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=105293&catid=2
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