Individuals may hear the term vehicular homicide used to describe a fatal car accident.
Though it is usually assumed that the at-fault driver did not intend to kill the driver or the passengers in the other automobile, in some cases, a court may find otherwise.
Vehicular homicide refers to murder in a motor vehicle.
An individual typically is only charged with this crime when one of two circumstances is true:

1. The individual actively sought to injure or kill another person using an automobile
2. The individual drove under the influence of alcohol, and it was not his or her first offense

Individuals who seek to injure others with their automobiles will likely be found guilty of vehicular homicide when they succeed.
Individuals who drive drunk, on the other hand, may present more difficult and complex cases.
In many cases, individuals who injure or kill others when they are driving drunk for the first time are charged with vehicular manslaughter, which carries a lesser sentence than vehicular homicide.
Individuals who have multiple drunk driving offenses, though, are a different case.
Since they have been punished for drinking and driving in the past, it is assumed that multiple offenders know the consequences of drinking and driving.
In many cases, individuals are required to sign waivers that state they understand that if they drive drunk, they are driving with the intent to injure or kill another human being.
As such, deaths resulting from accidents that these individuals cause may be considered homicide since they occurred with intent.
Though vehicular homicide is a criminal offense, families of victims may be able to file wrongful death claims to seek financial compensation for their losses.
If you lost a loved one in a vehicular homicide case, discuss your legal rights and options with the Pennsylvania wrongful death attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.
C.