Vehicular homicide in the 1st degree and vehicular homicide in the 2nd degree share the same general elements, to wit: a homicide resulting from the commission of a traffic offense. The only difference between 1st and 2nd degree vehicular homicide if in the culpability that is attached to the predicate traffic offense. Hayles v. State 180 Ga. App. 860 (1986). With serious predicate driving offenses like DUI and attempting to elude, felony penalties attach. Common fractions, such as running a red light, the misdemeanor penalties will apply. The vehicular homicide statute, by its own terms, applies only to homicide caused without malice aforethought and without intention to do so. Thus malice murder by vehicle Justice malice murder by other means falls under OCGA 16-5-1, the malice murder statute. In Dumas v. State, 266 Ga. 797 (1996) a jury returned a verdict of guilty for both vehicular homicide and malice murder. Because murder requires malice aforethought, and vehicular homicide does not, the judge properly refused to accept the verdict until one of the mutually exclusive verdicts was eliminated. Dumas v. State, 266 Ga. 797, 471 S.E.2d 508 (1996). Contact a Paulding county criminal defense lawyer today.
