Should drunk drivers who get into accidents that kill others be charged with murder? Technically, at least, they can be. Normally, drunk drivers who are involved in fatal accidents are charged with manslaughter, requiring the state only to prove that the defendant acted negligently or recklessly. But to convict a driver who has been charged with murder for a death in a drunk-driving accident, the prosecution must show that the defendant acted with implied malice – a heavier burden to carry and the reason relatively few drunk drivers are charged with or convicted of murder.
It does happen, though. A recent report broke the news that a local man became the first person in Vermont convicted for murder for a fatal drunk-driving accident.
Kay Borneman was driving home from a movie theater in Burlington the day after Christmas, 2010, when she was struck and killed by 53-year-old Timothy Dowd, who was driving drunk and being chased by the police. Dowd had already been convicted of DUI four times, and he was afraid of picking up a fifth. Speeding, being chased by the police, running through red lights and stop signs, and driving drunk…it was sadly inevitable that this would end badly.
According to the story, Dowd was not only the drunk driver convicted of murder in Vermont, he was the first person ever charged with murder for a fatal alcohol-related accident in that state. The prosecutor in the case summed up the state’s position as follows: “When you drink and drive under these circumstances in Vermont, we’re going to call it what it is: murder.” Dowd was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and his driving privileges have been permanently revoked.
Hundreds of studies that have been conducted throughout the last several decades reveal just how dangerous drinking and driving is, and why states throughout the country have enacted progressively tougher anti-DUI laws:
- Americans with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or higher got behind the wheel of a car about 112 million times in 2010
- Alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents account for nearly 1/3 of all traffic-related deaths each year
- Nearly 11,000 people die in drunk driving accidents each year
- About 30 people are killed in drunk driving accidents every day, or 1 person every 48 seconds
- Although Americans admitted to drinking and driving about 147 million times in 2009, there were only about 1.4 million arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, which means that fewer than 1 in 100 drug- or alcohol-impaired drivers were actually pulled over
- Individuals who at the time of a fatal crash were driving with a BAC above the legal limit were 8 times more likely to have a prior DUI conviction than drivers who at the time of a fatal crash had no alcohol in their system
Have you been charged with drunk driving? Contact a reputable and experienced Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer right away. A skilled Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer with experience in DUI law can analyze the facts of your case, apply them to the law, and advise you of the options that may be available. A conviction for DUI can have very serious legal, professional, and personal consequences. Enlist the legal services of a smart, tough and experienced Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer to help you deal with a charge of DUI.
