First Degree Vehicular Homicide
A person commits first degree vehicular homicide when causing the death of another person through a violation of O.C.G.A under O.C.G.A. Section 40-6-393(a). Section 40-6-391 (DUI), reckless driving under O.C.G.A. Section 40-6-390, or other specified serious traffic offenses. First degree vehicular homicide is a felony carrying three to fifteen years imprisonment. The state must prove three elements beyond a reasonable doubt: the defendant committed the underlying traffic violation, the violation was the proximate cause of the victim’s death, and a direct causal nexus existed between the specific violation and the fatal outcome. ThGeorgia’s government must establish that the defendant’s conduct caused the death, not merely that the defendant was violating a traffic law at the time of the collision.
Consider this scenario: You are involved in a fatal accident while driving with a suspended license. Georgia’s vehicular homicide statute can apply even when the predicate traffic violation is unrelated to impairment, expanding exposure beyond DUI-related fatalities.
Second Degree Vehicular Homicide
Second degree vehicular homicide under O.C.G.A. Section 40-6-393(c) occurs when a person causes the death of another through any traffic violation other than those specified for first degree, such as failure to maintain lane, failure to yield, running a stop sign, or speeding. Second degree vehicular homicide is a misdemeanor carrying up to twelve months imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. The distinction between first and second degree turns on the severity of the underlying traffic violation rather than the defendant’s mental state or the circumstances of the death. Your defense attorney should evaluate whether the state’s evidence supports the specific traffic violation alleged because the degree classification depends entirely on which violation is proven.
Feticide by Vehicle.1
O.C.G.A. Section 40-6-393.1 applies when a person causes the death of an unborn child through reckless driving, DUI, or other specified traffic violations. Georgia law recognizes the unborn child as a separate victim under this statute, meaning a defendant who causes the death of a pregnant woman and her unborn child may face separate charges for each death. The penalty structure mirrors vehicular homicide: first degree feticide by vehicle is a felony carrying three to fifteen years, while second degree is a misdemeanor. The government must establish the same elements as vehicular homicide, with the additional requirement of establishing that the unborn child was viable or that the traffic violation caused the termination of the pregnancy.
DUI as Predicate Offense
The most common predicate for first degree vehicular homicide is DUI under O.C.G.A. Section 40-6-391. A guilty verdict requires the state to show the DUI beyond a reasonable doubt as an integral part of the vehicular homicide case. All defenses available in a standalone DUI prosecution apply in the vehicular homicide context, including challenging the lawfulness of the traffic stop, the administration and interpretation of field sobriety tests, the accuracy and admissibility of chemical testing results, the chain of custody of blood samples, the calibration and maintenance records of breath testing equipment, and the defendant’s actual level of impairment. A successful defense of the underlying DUI eliminates the predicate for first degree vehicular homicide, potentially reducing the charge to second degree if another traffic violation is established.
Causation and Proximate Cause Defenses
Causation is frequently the most contested element in vehicular homicide prosecutions. ThThis state carries the burden of establishing that the defendant’s traffic violation was the proximate cause of the death, meaning the death was a foreseeable consequence of the violation and no independent intervening cause broke the causal chain. Defense theories include that the victim’s own negligence, such as failure to wear a seatbelt or the victim’s own traffic violations, was the superseding cause of death; that a third party’s conduct intervened; that a mechanical failure unrelated to the defendant’s driving caused the collision; or that the death would have occurred regardless of the violation. Experienced criminal defense attorneys retain a qualified accident reconstruction expert to evaluate the mechanics of the collision, analyze speed, impact angles, vehicle dynamics, and road conditions, and determine whether the traffic violation actually caused the fatal outcome.
Serious Injury by Vehicle
When a traffic violation causes serious bodily injury rather than death, the defendant faces serious injury by vehicle charges under O.C.G.A. Section 40-6-394. The first degree offense, predicated on DUI or reckless driving, is a felony carrying one to fifteen years. Vehicular homicide cases frequently involve companion charges including serious injury by vehicle when other passengers survived, DUI, reckless driving, and failure to maintain lane. The sentencing court determines whether sentences run concurrently or consecutively, and when multiple victims are involved, separate charges apply to each victim.
Investigating and Defending Vehicular Homicide
A skilled defense attorney will immediately retain an accident reconstruction expert, preserve all physical evidence from the scene including photographs and vehicle damage documentation, obtain the medical examiner’s report and autopsy findings to evaluate causation, secure any available dashcam, bodycam, or surveillance footage, obtain toxicology reports for all involved parties including the victim, and obtain the complete law enforcement investigation file including crash reports, witness statements, and scene measurements. In DUI-predicate cases, challenge the qualifications of the state’s toxicology and accident reconstruction experts under the Daubert standard as applied through O.C.G.A. Section 24-7-702 and HB 478 (2022).