Vehicular homicide is a crime in which the defendant's unlawful or negligent operation of a motor vehicle results in the death of another person. Also called automobile homicide and vehicular manslaughter. Such laws vary by jurisdiction, but vehicular homicide is generally easier to prove than manslaughter because it requires an even less culpable mens rea.
See State v. Hegstrom, where the Minnesota Court of Appeals applied the statutory standard for vehicular homicide. Minn. Stat. (§) 609.21 states that “whoever causes the death of a human being not constituting murder or manslaughter as a result of operating a motor vehicle, (1) in a grossly negligent manner; (2) in a negligent manner while under the influence of alcohol, a controlled substance, or any combination of those elements.; is guilty of criminal vehicular homicide resulting in death.”
[Last updated in July of 2024 by the Wex Definitions Team]