Senate Bill sb1324c1

    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1324

    By the Committee on Criminal Justice; and Senator Campbell





    307-2658-04

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to vehicular homicide; amending

  3         s. 782.071, F.S.; providing that operating a

  4         motor vehicle without having slept within the

  5         preceding 24 hours of an episode that results

  6         in death does not create, without additional

  7         competent evidence, a presumption that the

  8         person operated the vehicle in a reckless

  9         manner for purposes of vehicular-homicide

10         provisions; providing an effective date.

11  

12  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

13  

14         Section 1.  Section 782.071, Florida Statutes, is

15  amended to read:

16         782.071  Vehicular homicide.--"Vehicular homicide" is

17  the killing of a human being, or the killing of a viable fetus

18  by any injury to the mother, caused by the operation of a

19  motor vehicle by another in a reckless manner likely to cause

20  the death of, or great bodily harm to, another.

21         (1)  Vehicular homicide is:

22         (a)  A felony of the second degree, punishable as

23  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084.

24         (b)  A felony of the first degree, punishable as

25  provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084, if:

26         1.  At the time of the accident, the person knew, or

27  should have known, that the accident occurred; and

28         2.  The person failed to give information and render

29  aid as required by s. 316.062.

30  

31  

                                  1

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 2004                           CS for SB 1324
    307-2658-04




 1  This paragraph does not require that the person knew that the

 2  accident resulted in injury or death.

 3         (2)  For purposes of this section, a fetus is viable

 4  when it becomes capable of meaningful life outside the womb

 5  through standard medical measures.

 6         (3)  Operating a motor vehicle without having slept

 7  within the preceding 24 hours of the episode that resulted in

 8  death does not give rise to a presumption that the defendant

 9  operated the vehicle in a reckless manner for other than a

10  lawful purpose, but may be considered with other competent

11  evidence in determining whether the defendant operated the

12  vehicle in a reckless manner.

13         (4)(3)  A right of action for civil damages shall exist

14  under s. 768.19, under all circumstances, for all deaths

15  described in this section.

16         (5)(4)  In addition to any other punishment, the court

17  may order the person to serve 120 community service hours in a

18  trauma center or hospital that regularly receives victims of

19  vehicle accidents, under the supervision of a registered

20  nurse, an emergency room physician, or an emergency medical

21  technician pursuant to a voluntary community service program

22  operated by the trauma center or hospital.

23         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.

24  

25          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
26                         Senate Bill 1324

27                                 

28  The CS deletes the rebuttable presumption created by the
    original bill and substitutes a permissive inference of
29  recklessness that may be reached by proof that the defendant
    had not slept within 24 hours of the episode that resulted in
30  death.

31  

                                  2

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.