New Jersey Criminal Defense Law Blog : New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : John Marshall Law Firm : Drug Crimes, Domestic Violence : Monmouth, Middlesex & Union Counties

The Monmouth County Prosecutors Office and a Howell man resolved death by auto charges this week. The underage suspect struck a tree resulting in the death of a 16 year old passenger.  The defendant was allegedly operating his vehicle in a reckless manner at the time of the crash. The resolution included a plea to a downgraded offense of Second Degree Aggravated Assault from an original charge of vehicular homicide. 

In another auto death case, an Ocean County women who was previously a contestant on American Idol, was struck by an individual subsequently charged with a crime. The suspect, who was apprehended and arrested several days after the accident, has been charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident. The criminal charges are now pending in the Superior Court in Toms River.

While charges of the nature involved in both these cases are extremely serious, this pedigree of offense tends to be susceptible to numerous defenses. This is particularly true where there is no evidence of drugs or alcohol, or where the evidence is prone to collateral attack. Experience in handling complicated issues of intoxication and proof thereof clearly comes in handy in the majority of these cases and one would assume that they could be of assistance in these cases.

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Almost 3 years ago, two sisters were killed in a collision with a state trooper.  The girls were running an errand and had the misfortune of being struck by a police cruiser allegedly involved in a chase. The officer admittedly did not have his siren or lights activated at the time of the accident.

The trooper was issued multiple motor vehicle tickets following the accident. He was later indicted for death by auto.  He is facing 5 to 10 years in prison if convicted of this offense. This controversial trial is set to begin in Cape May County.

The New Jersey Death by Auto Law is set forth at N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5. An individual is criminally culpable under this provision if he or she operates a vehicle "recklessly" and it results in the death of another. While these cases typically involve some element of intoxication, the law does not mandate involvement of foreign substance and reckless conduct of any origin will suffice. In order to be convicted of vehicular homicide, an individual must have been the operator of a vehicle, his or her operation must have resulted in the death of another, and must have been reckless. An individual must act without due regard for a high risk of injury to another to be reckless under N.J.S.A. 2C:11-5 and N.J.S.A. 39:4-96.

In this case, the state has a significant burden to satisfy if it is going to obtain a conviction. The truth is that cases like these are rarely prosecuted. I can only suspect that there is much more to this case than is offered in newspapers and other publications. We will keep you posted on the outcome. 
 

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An aggravated assault may arise out of operation of a motor vehicle.  This pedigree of aggravated assault is commonly referred to as Assault by Auto.  Where the resulting injury is "serious", the Assault by Auto is a Second Degree.  Serious bodily injury is defined as injury that involves a substantial risk of death, permanent disfigurement, or loss of function of a bodily member or organ. Where an injury falls short and is only "significant", it gives rise to a Third Degree Aggravated Assault by Auto.

There are basically three (3) ways in which a person can be held accountable for assault by auto. First, where a motorist acts with the purpose or intent to collide with a victim, that is an assault by auto. The degree of a charge for an intentional collision hinges on the nature of the injury suffered by the victim (e.g. serious, significant, minor).  Second, when an individual acts recklessly (e.g. driving while intoxicated, reckless driving, extreme speeding, etc.) and this results in injury to another, that is also an assault by auto. Whether this conduct is a Second Degree, Third Degree or even Fourth Degree Aggravated Assault, again depends on the extent of the resulting injury. Third, an assault by auto arises when an individual causes bodily injury while fleeing or elude police contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2(b), or while joyriding in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:20-10(c). This variety of assault by auto is also a Second Degree crime.

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The 2008 Christmas holiday resulted in drunk driving fatalities and serious injuries.  Early Sunday morning, a Glassboro man slammed his vehicle into the back of a dumb truck resulting in the death of his passenger.  Chemical tests allegedly revealed a blood alcohol concentration over the legal limit, resulting in vehicular homicide charges being filed filed.

On Tuesday, another alcohol related accident occurred in Kearny.  The collision resulted in serious injuries and involved a motorist with a BAC of .19, over twice the legal limit.  Assault by Auto charges have been filed.

The holiday season is always a festive time involving alcohol. Unfortunately, this seems to result in DWI related fatalities every year.  If the toxicology stands up in cases like these, the defendants have serious jail exposure.

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