Vehicular Manslaughter in Arizona: ARS 13-1103 click for a free consultation

Posted on March 20, 2025 in Arizona Revised Statutes,Vehicular Crimes

Arizona is one of only three states that does not have a specific vehicular homicide law. Instead, the state uses general homicide laws in cases where one or more motor vehicles are the physical means involved in a person’s death. This means that in a fatal car accident, depending on the circumstances, you might be charged with:

• Murder
• Vehicular Homicide
• Vehicular Manslaughter

In this post, we focus on vehicular manslaughter. If you have been charged with vehicular manslaughter in Arizona or are being investigated, call Rosenstein Law Group at (480) 248-7666 or use our contact form.

How Does Arizona Law Define Vehicular Manslaughter?

ARS 13-1103 is the Arizona statute for manslaughter. This law identifies the following ways a defendant’s actions can become manslaughter:

• Recklessly causing the death of another person.
• Committing second-degree murder during a sudden quarrel or during a “heat of passion” that the victim provoked or by being coerced to do so.
• Intentionally providing assisted suicide advice to someone else to commit suicide, knowing that the person intends to die that way.
• Knowingly or recklessly causing the death of a pregnant woman’s unborn child by harming the unborn child’s mother.

For our purposes here, we do not need to address each of these variations. Instead, Arizona prosecutors usually level vehicular manslaughter charges when a person recklessly causes the death of another while using a vehicle.

Less commonly, a vehicular manslaughter charge can come from a “road rage” incident, when a driver knowingly or intentionally uses a vehicle to commit a sudden quarrel or heat of passion murder after receiving adequate provocation from the victim, who is usually another driver.

What is Reckless Behavior in a Vehicular Manslaughter Charge?

Arizona law defines reckless behavior as being aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that a certain result will occur or that the circumstances of such a risk exist and proceeding anyway in conscious disregard thereof.

To be substantial and unjustifiable, the risk must be of a kind that disregarding it involves a gross deviation from what a reasonable person would have done in the same situation.

Examples of reckless behavior while driving a car include:

• Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs (DUI) (ARS 28-1381)
• Excessive Speed (ARS 28-701.02)
• Aggressive Driving
• Racing

Examples of excessive speeding include:

• Driving faster than 35 miles per hour in a school zone.
• Exceeding the posted speed limit in a business or residential area by more than 20 miles per hour if a speed limit is posted or 45 miles per hour if a speed limit is not posted.
• Driving faster than 85 miles per hour in any other area.

Examples of aggressive driving are:

• During a course of conduct, the person commits a speeding violation and at least two of the following violations:
  • Failure to obey traffic control devices.
  • Overtaking and passing another vehicle on the right by driving off the pavement or main traveled portion of the roadway.
  • Unsafe lane change.
  • Following a vehicle too closely.
  • Failure to yield the right-of-way.
• The person’s driving is an immediate hazard to another person or vehicle.

Racing involves any kind of:

• Racing or other speed competition.
• Drag or acceleration contest.

Additionally, some prosecutors consider the motor vehicles involved as dangerous instruments, raising the charge to dangerous manslaughter.

Distinguish Vehicular Manslaughter From Negligent Homicide

Sometimes a prosecutor might charge a driver with negligent homicide under ARS 13-1102. The difference between criminal negligence and reckless manslaughter is as follows:

Negligent Homicide (ARS 13-1102)	Manslaughter (ARS 13-1103)
Criminal negligence: Failure to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstances exist.	Recklessness: When a person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that exists or will occur.
The unreasonable risk of harm actually exists.	Proceeding in conscious disregard of the grave risk.
Risks must be of a nature and degree that the failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.	The risk must be of a nature and degree that disregarding the risk constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware of it because of voluntary intoxication is also considered reckless.

Vehicular manslaughter often involves aggravating circumstances that elevate ordinary negligence to a reckless act. For example, a prosecutor might charge a car accident involving excessive speed as negligent homicide, but if the driver was driving under the influence (voluntary intoxication) at the time or engaged in a drag race, then the vehicular homicide standard of recklessness will likely apply and you can be charged with vehicular manslaughter.

Penalties for Vehicular Manslaughter Charges

A conviction for vehicular manslaughter in Arizona is a class 2 “dangerous” felony.

If the jury decides that a vehicular manslaughter conviction does not consider the vehicle a “dangerous instrument,” the penalties for a first-offense conviction are:

• A mandatory prison sentence ranging from 7 to 21 years with a presumptive term of 10.5 years
• Up to $150,000 in fines plus restitution

For defendants with prior “non-dangerous” felony convictions, the prison sentence increases:

• For one prior “non-dangerous” felony conviction, the prison term is 14 to 28 years with a presumptive term of 15.75.
• For two prior “non-dangerous” felony convictions, the prison term is 21 to 35 years with a presumptive term of 28 years.

For defendants with prior “dangerous’ felony convictions, the prison sentences are as follows:

• For one prior “dangerous” felony conviction, the prison term ranges from 10.5 to 26.25 years.
• For two prior “dangerous” felony convictions, the prison term ranges from 15.75 to 35 years.

Defenses to a Vehicular Manslaughter Charge

Experienced criminal defense attorneys can use any of several possible defenses against a vehicular manslaughter charge. Here are some of the common defenses.

• You were not driving in a reckless manner.
• The accident was the fault of another driver or a third person.
• You were not driving at an excessive rate of speed.
• The police lacked reasonable suspicion to stop you or probable cause to make an arrest.
• The police violated your legal rights by illegally obtaining evidence against you, like not informing you of your “Miranda” rights prior to questioning while in custody or disregarding your attempt to exercise those rights.
• The police report of the vehicular manslaughter incident is incomplete or inaccurate.
• Prosecution witness statements against you are false or inaccurate.
• The police mislabeled or mishandled evidence in their custody.

The Importance of Investigating the Facts in a Vehicular Manslaughter Defense

Identifying possible defenses to a vehicular manslaughter charge involves a thorough investigation of the underlying facts of the accident and accident reconstruction. This is because the difference between vehicular manslaughter in Arizona and negligent homicide is often a matter of definition.

• For example, was the defendant’s behavior reckless or negligent? What was the level of awareness of the risk? Was the risk truly substantial and unjustifiable?
• Was any speeding involved truly excessive?
• Was the driving behavior truly aggressive or justifiable under the circumstances?

The Importance of Reasonable Doubt in Defending Against Manslaughter in Arizona

The more reasonable doubt that your legal defense can cast on the prosecution’s evidence or its ability to prove recklessness as opposed to merely negligent behavior, the more likely it becomes that your defense attorney can achieve one of the following outcomes:

• Reach a plea deal that reduces the charge from vehicular manslaughter as a dangerous Class 2 felony to an ordinary Class 2 felony or from vehicular manslaughter down to negligent homicide.
• Defeating one or more elements of the prosecution’s case in trial can result in acquittal or force the prosecution to seek conviction based on a lesser charge.

Have You Been Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter in Arizona?

At Rosenstein Law Group, we provide experienced legal representation in vehicular manslaughter cases.

We can answer your questions regarding the charge against you, advise you about your available legal options, and provide you with skillful and experienced representation in plea negotiations and court hearings and trial.

Call our law office at (480) 248-7666 or use our contact form to speak with an experienced Arizona criminal defense attorney.