Los Angeles Criminal Attorney Blog

A Long Beach man faces a gross vehicular manslaughter charge in California after his car struck and killed a person riding a bike in Carson, California. The Los Angeles sheriff’s department has reported that the suspect was intoxicated. Based on a Press-Telegram article, the incident occurred on the evening of Saturday, April 17. The victim was pronounced dead at the Long Beach Memorial Medical Center.

Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated is one of the most severe offenses that someone who is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol can be charged with. If convicted, a defendant faces anywhere from probation to ten years in a California prison. In order for the prosecution to prove this crime in the state of California, under Penal Code section 191.5(a), they must demonstrate the following:

1. A person drove under the influence of alcohol or a drug, or the combined influence of alcohol and a drug, or drove while having a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or higher; and,


2. While driving under the influence, the person also committed either a misdemeanor or a driving infraction, or a lawful act that might cause death; and,


3. The person committed a misdemeanor or some infraction or lawful act that might cause death with gross negligence; and,


4. The defendant's grossly negligent conduct caused the death of another person.