24 Aug 2012
As the result of a tragic accident earlier this week that claimed the life of his wife, a Hays County man has been charged with intoxication manslaughter. The driver was taken to the hospital for treatment of minor injuries and then arrested. According to the police, he smelled like alcohol and had red, glassy eyes when officers arrived on the scene. No mention was made of the driver’s blood alcohol content or the administration of any field sobriety tests.
The crime of intoxication manslaughter is defined in section 49.08 of the Texas Penal Code. That statute provides that a person commits the offense if he (a) operates a motor vehicle (or a boat, plane or amusement ride) (b) in a public place, (c) is intoxicated and (d) by reason of that intoxication causes the death of another by accident or mistake.
The primary issue in an intoxication manslaughter case, assuming intoxication has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, is causation. The fact that you are intoxicated while driving a motor vehicle, and end up in an accident in which someone is killed, does not by itself establish the necessary connection between the behavior that is proscribed – driving while intoxicated – and the death of the individual. For example, you may be guilty of drunk driving, but the accident which results in the death may have been caused by another person’s careless or reckless driving, or by the actions of a pedestrian who may have been the victim.
The issue of causation is also addressed in section 6.04 of the Penal Code, which provides as follows:
“A person is criminally responsible if the result would not have occurred but for his conduct, operating either alone or concurrently with another cause, unless the concurrent cause was clearly sufficient to produce the result and the conduct of the actor clearly insufficient.”
What this means is that even if intoxicated driving was not the only cause of the death, it is nevertheless sufficient to sustain a conviction unless there was another cause sufficient to cause the death, and the actions of the defendant were clearly insufficient to bring about that result.
Note also that unlike criminally negligent homicide, intoxication manslaughter does not require proof of a particular state of mind. As such, it is referred to as a strict liability offense in that if the conduct is proven, and causation is established, there is no requirement that the state prove that the defendant acted intentionally, or even recklessly. Torres v. State.
Of course, we do not have sufficient facts to predict the result in the case. But if you drink and drive, be aware of the fact that intoxication manslaughter ordinarily a second degree felony, punishable by imprisonment for between two and twenty years.
If you have been charged with intoxication manslaughter, DWI, or any offense relating to driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you need an experienced Austin DWI lawyer at your side every step of the way.
Law Office of David D. White, PLLC
1205 Rio Grande Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 369-3737