When someone gets behind the wheel after drinking and driving, there is a possibility that the person will cause an accident. If you decide to drink and drive, the vehicle that you’re in will be more than a simple method of transportation from one location to another. It can become a weapon, and you can be charged with aggravated vehicular assault if you are in an accident and injure or kill someone else. There are three types of vehicular assault as described by New York Penal Laws. Aggravated assault is the most serious and carries the longest prison sentence of the three that you could receive. Unless your attorney can successfully challenge the charge and get it dropped or reduced, then you will lose the privilege to drive and could spend up to 15 years in prison. There are also significant fines associated with this charge that you need to consider.
There are a few elements that need to be met before an aggravated vehicular assault charge is handed down. If you operate a vehicle in a reckless manner and cause serious injury to someone else, then you will be charged with aggravated vehicular assault. Other elements that are involved include being intoxicated while you’re operating the vehicle or impaired by drugs while operating the vehicle. Another situation would be if you operated a vehicle while intoxicated and it had explosives or radioactive materials on board. Operating a snowmobile or some type of all-terrain vehicle while intoxicated is also grounds for being charged with aggravated vehicular assault.
Aggravated vehicular assault is considered a felony and can be compared to first-degree assault with a vehicle. One difference is that you must drive in a reckless manner. This means that you operate any vehicle in a way that poses harm or that interferes with the actions of other drivers on the road or those who are walking on the side of the road, such as on a city sidewalk. Another requirement to consider to be charged with aggravated vehicular assault is that the victim must sustain serious injuries or death.
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(212) 300-5196An attorney can sometimes challenge the charge that you receive by using one of a few defenses that are available. One of the common ways is to challenge how accurate the test was that determined you were intoxicated at the time you were operating the vehicle. Sometimes, certain foods, beverages, or medications can alter the results of the chemical test given, which is something that your attorney can bring up in court. If the victim was not seriously injured, then your attorney can challenge the charge. Some of the things that the court will look at include the degree of pain that the victim was in at the scene as well as whether the victim lost consciousness or not.
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Featured on Netflix's "Inventing Anna," Todd Spodek brings decades of high-stakes criminal defense experience. His aggressive approach has secured dismissals and acquittals in cases others deemed unwinnable.
After leaving a bar in Manhattan, you were involved in a serious car accident that left another driver with a broken spine and traumatic brain injury. Police arrived and administered a breathalyzer test showing your BAC at 0.12%, and now you've been told you're facing aggravated vehicular assault charges.
What exactly is aggravated vehicular assault, and how much prison time could I actually be facing for this?
Aggravated vehicular assault is charged under New York Penal Law § 120.04-a and is classified as a Class C violent felony, carrying a potential sentence of 5 to 15 years in state prison. The prosecution must prove that you drove while intoxicated under VTL § 1192 and caused serious physical injury to another person through reckless or negligent operation of your vehicle. Because this is a violent felony, you are not eligible for a conditional discharge or simple probation, and a conviction carries mandatory state prison time. An experienced defense attorney can challenge the breathalyzer calibration records, the probable cause for the traffic stop, and whether your driving actually caused the injuries, all of which can be critical to reducing or dismissing these charges.
This is general information only. Contact us for advice specific to your situation.
Once the prosecutor reviews all of the evidence, your charges could be raised or lowered, which can have a significant impact on how long you stay in prison and how much you will be ordered to pay in fines. Your case will be presented in court in front of a Grand Jury simply because it’s a felony offense. Depending on the severity of the incident and your background, your attorney might be able to work with the prosecutor to come up with some kind of plea bargain so that you spend a minimal amount of time in prison if any time at all.
