How can homicide by vehicle be a misdemeanor?

An overloaded Chevy Trailblazer crashes Saturday at Victory Drive and Interstate 185, killing two children, and the driver is charged only with misdemeanors.

Some wonder: How can that be? Isn’t homicide by vehicle a felony?

It is, sometimes, but not always. The severity of the charge depends on the circumstances of the wreck.

In this case driver Francisca Taperia-Santiago is charged with two counts each of second-degree vehicular homicide and reckless conduct, four counts of unsafe tires, six counts of improper child restraint, and one count each of failing to maintain lane and having no state driver’s license. She is free on bond.

Police said Taperia-Santiago had 10 passengers in a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer designed for eight when she lost control on the interstate’s northbound ramp at Victory Drive around 1:30 p.m.

The Trailblazer’s left front veered right, crossed the outside lane and ran onto the shoulder. The SUV rolled after hitting a guardrail, coming to rest on its roof on Victory Drive’s east ramp.

The passengers were Sherika Camaja-Taperia, an infant; Priscilla Taperia, 1; Raynal Do Taperia, 2; Juliana Camaja Taperia, 6; Reyna Taperia, 6; Maria Taperia, 8; Juan Camaja, 13; Jose Manuel Taperia, 13; Alex Teletor, 15; and Amelia Taperia, 34.

The driver’s daughter Juliana Camaja Taperia and nephew Jose Manuel Taperia died at 2:18 p.m. in the emergency room.

Though police allege the driver’s losing control and the lack of proper passenger restraint led to those deaths, the driver still faces only misdemeanors.

Why?

Because Georgia law specifically cites which traffic violations contributing to a death may lead to a felony homicide by vehicle charge, and the driver committed none of them.

The driver’s accused of violating a Georgia code section on vehicular homicide that states: “Any person who causes the death of another person, without an intention to do so … commits the offense of homicide by vehicle in the second degree….”

That’s a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

The felony statute also requires no “malice aforethought,” or intent to harm anyone, but lists more serious traffic offenses as grounds for prosecution.

They are:

• Fleeing from the police.
• Passing a school bus stopped to load or unload students.
• Reckless driving.
• Driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.
• Leaving the scene of an accident.

Such offenses may justify a charge of homicide by vehicle in the first degree, for which the punishment ranges from three to five years. A jury may have to decide whether the accused motorist’s conduct constituted reckless driving.

Another section of the law is devoted strictly to those deemed “habitual violators” because they have a record of three or more serious traffic violations within five years. If a motorist so designated causes a death while driving on a revoked license, he or she faces five to 20 years in prison.

That sentence may be “suspended, probated, deferred, or withheld,” the law says, “but only after such person shall have served at least one year in the penitentiary.”

Steve Craft, chief assistant public defender for the six-county Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit that covers Columbus, agreed to help explain the law, but would not comment specifically on Taperia-Santiago’s case.

He said traffic laws are matters of “strict liability” holding drivers accountable for their actions behind the wheel, but they raise no question of “intent.” Prosecutors don’t have to prove you intended to run a red light or to exceed the speed limit before causing a car crash, only that you committed the traffic violation.

Motorists often don’t take such offenses seriously, viewing traffic laws as an “inconvenience,” he said. But more people are killed in car wrecks than are murdered, and you’re far more likely to die on the road than to be assaulted.

“That’s why you see police agencies conduct these extremely in-depth investigations, and then file these felony charges,” Craft said. “It’s responsibility and accountability. You get behind the wheel and drive down the road, and you cause this wreck. Whether you intended to or not, you are responsible. And that’s what the vehicle homicide laws do: They bring a degree of accountability or responsibility to traffic wrecks.”

Drivers should be more conscientious about routine traffic laws, he said: “It’s a public safety issue.” A multi-ton vehicle going 60 mph is a lethal force, not an amusement ride.

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 3:55 PM with the headline "How can homicide by vehicle be a misdemeanor?."