A St. Louis County woman has been charged with vehicular manslaughter after running over her boyfriend in Overland. Rachel Collier and her boyfriend had been drinking and fighting in a car on August 23rd. When her boyfriend got out of the car, she moved over to the driver’s seat and began driving, at which point she hit him. The man was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Blood draws of Ms. Collier’s blood alcohol content several hours after the incident revealed blood alcohol contents of .094% and .072%. Although the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has reported that St. prosecutors have charged Ms. Collier with Involuntary Manslaughter and DWI from the incident, the only current charge pending is Involuntary Manslaughter – Vehicular – Intoxicated.

Murder Disguised as Vehicular Manslaughter?
Given the facts of the case, it appears that Ms. Collier may be lucky to be charged with involuntary manslaughter. A case could be made that Ms. Collier murdered her boyfriend using the car as a weapon. Her admission that the two of them had been fighting prior to the incident, that she had to move from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat, and she started the car are all facts that would show motive and intent of murder, not simply a drunken accident. If she chose to run him down, then this case should have been charged as murder. In Missouri the range of punishment for murder is 10-30 years or life, while the range of punishment for this involuntary manslaughter charge would be 0-7 years in prison.

Vehicular Manslaughter a Prudent Choice By Prosecutors
There is no question a murder charge would be much harder to prove against Ms. Collier than the Involuntary Manslaughter involving a vehicule. In a murder case, intent must be shown, not necessarily intent to murder, but intent to hit the boyfriend with the car. To prove this county of involuntary manslaughter the prosecutors will only have to prove that 1) Ms. Collier was operating the vehicle; 2) she was intoxicated while doing so; and 3) she acted with criminal negligence that resulted in her boyfriend’s death. The fact pattern presents an easy case for involuntary manslaughter, and the prosecutors are most likely doing the right thing by seeking the sure conviction of Ms. Collier, but like so many cases, it is not clear cut whether this was involuntary homicide caused by a drunken car accident or a woman murdering her boyfriend following a drunken fight.

If you have been charged with Vehicular Manslaughter in Missouri, please contact The Law Office of Jason A. Korner to have your case reviewed and your questions answered.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Overland Woman Charged With DWI After Hitting and Killing Boyfriend,” Christine Byers, September 12, 2013.

Former NBA star Mookie Blaylock has been charged with Vehicular Homicide in Atlanta, Georgia following an accident where his car crossed the center line and collided head on with another vehicle.  Vehicular Homicide charges in Georgia are similar to Vehicular Manslaughter here in Missouri.  The charges were brought by the proseuctor’s office despite no drugs or alochol were found in Blaylock’s system during initial toxicology tests. It appears that Blaylock may have had a seizure type event while driving his car, and that event lead to the accident.

The Clayton County, Georgia prosecutor has said that there are no mitigating factors despite Blaylock’s sober driving. The thoery of prosecution seems to focus around Blaylock’s history of seizuire type events, and that he should not have been driving a vehicle at all. Although there are many facts still to be learned in this case there are reports of at least one prior seizure type event of an unknown cause suffered by Blaylock several months prior to the accident.

The most commonly used charge for Vehicular Manslaughter in Missouri requires intoxication, whether by drugs, alcohol, or a combination of the two. However, the general statute for Involuntary Manslaughter could be applied in Blaylock’s case, if Blaylock’s case had taken place in Missouri. Involuntary Manslaughter in Missouri only requires that a suspect recklessly causes the death of another person. In Blaylock’s case, if he knew he had a medical condition that could cause him to lose control of his vehilcle, then that could be enough for Involuntary Manslaughter. Either way, this case will not be easy for either the prosecution or the defense, and it will be interesting to watch it play out in court.

– Our firm is experienced in handling all issues involving DWI cases and Vehicular Manslaughter cases in and around the St. Louis area. For more information please see our DWI page and our Vehicular Manslaughter page.

Source: www.sbnation.com, “Mookie Blaylock Charged with Vehicular Homicide,” Mark Sandritter, June 3, 2013

The recent arrest of Todd Harrell for vehicular manslaughter can teach us valuable lessons. Harrell, the bassist for the band Three Doors Down, was arrested in Nashville following an accident resulting in the death of a man in another vehicle. During the police investigation, Harrell failed field sobriety tests, admitted to drinking, admitted to taking the painkiller Lortab and the anti-depressant Xanex, and was found in possession of several other pills in his vehicle.

Unfortunately, this is not just the behavior of an out of control rock star. DWI attorneys see this kind of behavior on a weekly basis. Fortunately, most of these kinds of cases do not result in the death of another motorist, but the danger is certainly present when pills and alcohol are mixed. Many times people will believe that they were justified to take the pills and then drive because they had a prescription for the medication. While the prescription makes it legal to possess and consume the pills, the prescription does not allow a person to operate a motor vehicle while impaired by even prescription drugs. This becomes especially evident when alcohol begins to be mixed with the drugs and the effects of both the prescription pills and the alcohol are amplified in combination.

There is no legal limit for the amount of a prescription medication a person is allowed to consume prior to operating a motor vehicle. If the DWI arrest is based solely on the consumption of the prescription medication then prosecutors will have a difficult time proving their case in all but extreme circumstances. The problem is that there are rarely DWI arrests for prescription pills when alcohol is not involved. Even one or two beers consumed in combination with a prescription drug, whether by accident or intentionally, can result in a person that is impaired.

Source: USA Today, “Todd Harrell Charged With Vehicular Manslaughter, Band Cancels Dates,” Brian Mansfield, April 22, 2013.

– Our firm is experienced in handling all issues involving DWI cases and Vehicular Manslaughter cases in and around the St. Louis area. For more information please see our DWI page and our Vehicular Manslaughter page.