Legal Question in Criminal Law in Florida

If your 17 driving after 1.00 am and run a stop sign and kill a women and her unborn child what charges could you face you havent been arrested even though the police said you werent allowed to drive at this hour


Asked on 7/17/13, 9:15 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

Craig Epifanio Craig Epifanio, P.A.

You will probably face at least one count of vehicular manslaughter. The curfew issue may be an aggravating factor but unlikely an additional charge and even if it was the more serious manslaughter charge is the big worry. Get an attorney immediately if you haven't done so already.

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Answered on 7/17/13, 9:22 am
Joseph Justice The Justice Law Firm

Well the highest level offense would be vehicular homicide (unless there was some indication he was impaired by drugs or alcohol which is not indicated in the question) or manslaughter by culpable negligence. There are also potential charges for reckless driving causing death or serious bodily injury. And at a minimum a civil citation for failure to obey a traffic control device or violation of DL restrictions. I do not believe driving outside of the permitted time frame (which is possibly an unconstitutional restriction) and causing an accident alone would give rise to a criminal offense without additional

If the only thing that happened was the running of the stop sign, then there is a good chance this would be seen a civil negligence. In which case the behavior of both parties will be a factor.

Mind you this is almost all speculation as there is not a lot of detail in this question.

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Answered on 7/17/13, 9:28 am
Eric Trabin Lucid Legal, PLLC

A charge of vehicular manslaughter would be an appropriate charge for the death of the woman. The 17 year old would be charged as an adult because traffic related criminal offenses (such as DUI or driving while license suspended, as examples) are all presumed to be adult activities. This 17 year old would be facing prison and would need an attorney.

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Answered on 7/17/13, 2:10 pm


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