Michigan Drunk Driving Causing Death - Felony DUI Penalties and Consequences in Michigan

Michigan OWI Causing Death is an elevated and more serious offense for drunk driving in Michigan.  The penalty for this offense is a maximum of 15 years in jail, a fine between $2,500 and $10,000, vehicle forfeiture, mandatory vehicle immobilization and possible restitution.

Although the elements of this offense are similar to the regular Operating While Intoxicated with the additional elements that the defendant voluntarily decided to drive knowing that he/she had consumed alcohol or a controlled substance or a combination of alcohol and a controlled substance and might be intoxicated or visibly impaired.

The prosecution must also show that that the defendant's operation of the vehicle caused the victim's death. To "cause the victim's death, the defendant's operation of the vehicle must have been a factual cause of the death, that is, but for the defendant's operation of the vehicle the death would not have occurred. In addition, operation of the vehicle must have been a proximate cause of death, that is, death or serious injury must have been a direct and natural result of operating the vehicle.

OWI Causing Death statute requires no causal link between defendant's intoxication and victim's death, defendant's operation of the motor vehicle must cause victim's death, not defendant's intoxication, intoxication is not a component of the causation element.

Courts have ruled that this charge is valid in a situation where the defendant vehicle no longer be in motion, but rather the victim's death be caused by the defendant's operation of the vehicle while intoxicated, which crashed, and the result of that crash is the car remains in the middle of the highway, which then causes a risk of injury or death to others.

This type of case is defended like an ordinary OWI case in that the prosecution must show intoxication.  If the prosecution is not able to show intoxication, this higher charged cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.  If the prosecution is able to prove intoxication, there are still other options to defend your case.

An accident reconstruction specialist can be used to collect evidence about the events that led to the collision. This specialist will examine the vehicles, tire marks, road conditions and interview witnesses; if the specialist determines that you were not responsible for the crash, this may help your case immensely.

A separate charge is an OWI Causing Death of Emergency Personnelwhich is any of the Operating While Intoxicated offenses or the Operating with Presence of a Controlled Substance offense combined with the failure to exhibit due care and caution, which causes the death of a police officer, firefighter or other emergency response personnel.

This is a 20-year felony with a fine between $2,500-$10,000, along with vehicle forfeiture and mandatory vehicle immobilization.