Woman Given Maximum Sentence in Las Vegas DUI with Death Case
This week a Clark County district court judge imposed the maximum sentence of eight to twenty years in prison on a woman who pleaded guilty in June to committing the Nevada crime of DUI with death. The victim died after she allegedly drove drunk and struck his Buick with her Jeep on Cheyenne and Rampart. Her BAC was reportedly more than two times the legal limit, and she already had one DUI conviction from 2001.
The Nevada crime of DUI with death makes if a category B felony to proximately cause the death of another person by driving drunk. It's also a felony if the driving results in substantial bodily harm. Common defenses include that the driver had not been drinking until after he/she stopped driving the car, that the breath testing equipment was faulty, that the fatality was not caused by the drunk driving, or that the victim was at more fault than the driver.
The penalties for committing the Nevada crime of DUI with death include 2-20 years in prison and maybe a $2,000-$5,000 fine. If the defendant was transporting a child under fifteen at the time, the judge may consider that when determining the prison time. Anyone convicted of drunk driving will probably be segregated from violent offenders while in prison.
For more info on this story, go to: http://www.lvrj.com/news/woman-sentenced-to-prison-in-drunken-driving-crash-that-killed-las-vegas-man-100789879.html
