Establishes the offense of vehicular homicide

• Republican15
• Democratic14

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Christopher Ryan says this is needed

Drivers with suspended licenses in New York State are still getting behind the wheel - and killing people. Ten percent of all crashes in New York are caused by drivers with suspended or revoked licenses, and 75 percent of those drivers still get behind the wheel. In January 2018, 13year-old Kevin Flores was biking home from school in Ridgewood, Queens when he was killed by a truck driver. The driver had his license revoked nine times for traffic infractions and had bragged about it on his Face- book page. The perpetrator in this case was arrested multiple times in the past for the same offense and was still driving improperly. Current New York State law includes charges for criminally negligent homicide, manslaughter, and aggravated vehicular homicide, but there exists a gap in addressing the most egregious conduct behind the wheel- cases where a driver, with depraved indifference to human life, engages in intentional conduct that results in a fatality. This bill creates a distinct and appropriately severe offense to hold such individuals accountable. Examples might include intentionally speeding through crowded pedestrian areas, participating in illegal street races on public roads, or intentionally running red lights at high speeds in defiance of known risks. These actions go beyond negligence and into conduct so reckless that they reflect a total disregard for human life. By establishing vehicular homicide as a class B felony, this bill ensures that the penalty aligns with the moral and social gravity of the offense, while also providing prosecutors with a clearer legal avenue to pursue justice for victims and their families in the most egregious traffic-related fatalities.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.