Vehicular Homicide – The Accident That Can Put Your Teen In Jail

Seth Smiley of the Smiley Law Firm is here with today’s edition of the Parents of Teen Drivers Facebook Group. We will discuss an unpleasant subject: “Vehicular homicide – the accident that can put your teen in jail.”

No parent ever wants to hear or deal with this, but it is a real risk, so we need to be aware of it. If teenagers are out on the road and cause a fatal accident, they potentially face charges of vehicular homicide. The consequences can be severe. The minimum cash fine is anywhere from $2,000 up to $15,000, and the prison sentence is between five and 30 years. It is an issue that you need to take extremely seriously. A lengthy prison sentence would destroy any teenager’s future. We need to stress the risk of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs to our teen drivers. Teen driving laws are there for a reason. The risk of driving impaired, and getting into an accident that will lead to jail is not worth it.

We now have easy access to Uber, Lyft, and other excellent services that they can use. If your teen does end up at a party and makes an unwise choice, make sure they know not to risk driving home. At some point, I intend to get a criminal attorney here to discuss this and other issues, but please stress the seriousness of a potential vehicular homicide charge with your teenagers. It is one of those things that we need to be smart about, we need to educate, and we need to make sure our teens make the right decisions. They need to stay away from drugs and alcohol. Also, keep away from anyone doing that while driving a vehicle. So, “Vehicular homicide – the accident that can put your teen in jail” is not a pleasant topic. Still, it is something we need to learn more about. If you have any questions about the laws applicable or any other input, please send me a DM or comment below.