S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
1015
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
(PREFILED)
January 5, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Codes
AN ACT to amend the penal law, in relation to the offenses of vehicular
assault and vehicular manslaughter
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Section 120.03 of the penal law, as amended by chapter 732
of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
S 120.03 Vehicular assault in the second degree.
A person is guilty of vehicular assault in the second degree when he
or she causes serious physical injury to another person, and either:
(1) operates a motor vehicle in violation of subdivision two, three,
four or four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and
traffic law or operates a vessel or public vessel in violation of para-
graph (b), (c), (d) or (e) of subdivision two of section forty-nine-a of
the navigation law, and as a result of such intoxication or impairment
by the use of a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of alco-
hol and any drug or drugs, operates such motor vehicle, vessel or public
vessel in a manner that causes such serious physical injury to such
other person, or
(2) operates a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of
more than eighteen thousand pounds which contains flammable gas, radio-
active materials or explosives in violation of subdivision one of
section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law, and
such flammable gas, radioactive materials or explosives is the cause of
such serious physical injury, and as a result of such impairment by the
use of alcohol, operates such motor vehicle in a manner that causes such
serious physical injury to such other person, or
(3) operates a snowmobile in violation of paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of
subdivision one of section 25.24 of the parks, recreation and historic
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03472-01-1
A. 1015 2
preservation law or operates an all terrain vehicle as defined in para-
graph (a) of subdivision one of section twenty-two hundred eighty-one of
the vehicle and traffic law and in violation of subdivision two, three,
four, or four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and
traffic law, and as a result of such intoxication or impairment by the
use of a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and
any drug or drugs, operates such snowmobile or all terrain vehicle in a
manner that causes such serious physical injury to such other person[.],
OR
(4) HAVING BEEN CONVICTED WITHIN THE PRECEDING EIGHTEEN MONTHS OF ANY
TWO VIOLATIONS OF SECTIONS FIVE HUNDRED NINE, FIVE HUNDRED ELEVEN, ELEV-
EN HUNDRED TEN, ELEVEN HUNDRED ELEVEN, ELEVEN HUNDRED EIGHTY, ELEVEN
HUNDRED EIGHTY-A, ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO, ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO-A
OR TWELVE HUNDRED TWELVE OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, HE OR SHE OPER-
ATES A MOTOR VEHICLE IN VIOLATION OF ANY OF THE AFOREMENTIONED SECTIONS
AND IN DOING SO CAUSES PHYSICAL INJURY TO ANOTHER PERSON, OR
(5) KNOWINGLY HAS IN EFFECT FOUR OR MORE SUSPENSIONS, IMPOSED ON AT
LEAST FOUR SEPARATE DATES FOR FAILURE TO ANSWER, APPEAR OR PAY A FINE
PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-SIX OR
SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TEN OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC
LAW, AND WHILE OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE CAUSES PHYSICAL INJURY TO
ANOTHER PERSON.
If it is established that the person operating such motor vehicle,
vessel, public vessel, snowmobile or all terrain vehicle caused such
serious physical injury while unlawfully intoxicated or impaired by the
use of alcohol or a drug, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption
that, as a result of such intoxication or impairment by the use of alco-
hol or a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol and
any drug or drugs, such person operated the motor vehicle, vessel,
public vessel, snowmobile or all terrain vehicle in a manner that caused
such serious physical injury, as required by this section.
Vehicular assault in the second degree is a class E felony.
S 2. Subdivisions 5 and 6 of section 120.04 of the penal law, subdivi-
sion 5 as amended and subdivision 6 as added by chapter 496 of the laws
of 2009, are amended and two new subdivisions 7 and 8 are added to read
as follows:
(5) has previously been convicted of violating any provision of this
article or article one hundred twenty-five of this title involving the
operation of a motor vehicle, or was convicted in any other state or
jurisdiction of an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle
which, if committed in this state, would constitute a violation of this
article or article one hundred twenty-five of this title; [or]
(6) commits such crime while operating a motor vehicle while a child
who is fifteen years of age or less is a passenger in such motor vehicle
and causes serious physical injury to such child[.]; OR
(7) HAVING BEEN CONVICTED WITHIN THE PRECEDING EIGHTEEN MONTHS OF ANY
TWO VIOLATIONS OF SECTIONS FIVE HUNDRED NINE, FIVE HUNDRED ELEVEN, ELEV-
EN HUNDRED TEN, ELEVEN HUNDRED ELEVEN, ELEVEN HUNDRED EIGHTY, ELEVEN
HUNDRED EIGHTY-A, ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO, ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO-A
OR TWELVE HUNDRED TWELVE OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, HE OR SHE OPER-
ATES A MOTOR VEHICLE IN VIOLATION OF ANY OF THE AFOREMENTIONED SECTIONS
AND IN DOING SO CAUSES SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY TO ANOTHER PERSON, OR
(8) KNOWINGLY HAS IN EFFECT FOUR OR MORE SUSPENSIONS, IMPOSED ON AT
LEAST FOUR SEPARATE DATES FOR FAILURE TO ANSWER, APPEAR OR PAY A FINE
PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION THREE OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-SIX OR
SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TEN OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC
A. 1015 3
LAW, AND WHILE OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE CAUSES SERIOUS PHYSICAL INJURY
TO ANOTHER PERSON.
S 3. Subdivision 2 of section 125.13 of the penal law, as amended by
chapter 496 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
(2) commits such crime while knowing or having reason to know that:
(a) his or her license or his or her privilege of operating a motor
vehicle in another state or his or her privilege of obtaining a license
to operate a motor vehicle in another state is suspended or revoked and
such suspension or revocation is based upon a conviction in such other
state for an offense which would, if committed in this state, constitute
a violation of any of the provisions of section eleven hundred ninety-
two of the vehicle and traffic law; or (b) his or her license or his or
her privilege of operating a motor vehicle in the state or his or her
privilege of obtaining a license issued by the commissioner of motor
vehicles is suspended or revoked and such suspension or revocation is
based upon either a refusal to submit to a chemical test pursuant to
section eleven hundred ninety-four of the vehicle and traffic law or
following a conviction for a violation of any of the provisions of
section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law, OR (C)
HAVING BEEN CONVICTED WITHIN THE PRECEDING EIGHTEEN MONTHS OF ANY TWO
VIOLATIONS OF SECTIONS FIVE HUNDRED NINE, FIVE HUNDRED ELEVEN, ELEVEN
HUNDRED TEN, ELEVEN HUNDRED ELEVEN, ELEVEN HUNDRED EIGHTY, ELEVEN
HUNDRED EIGHTY-A, ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO, ELEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO-A
OR TWELVE HUNDRED TWELVE OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, HE OR SHE OPER-
ATES A MOTOR VEHICLE IN VIOLATION OF ANY OF THE AFOREMENTIONED SECTIONS
AND IN DOING SO CAUSES THE DEATH OF ANOTHER PERSON, OR (D) KNOWINGLY HAS
IN EFFECT FOUR OR MORE SUSPENSIONS, IMPOSED ON AT LEAST FOUR SEPARATE
DATES FOR FAILURE TO ANSWER, APPEAR OR PAY A FINE PURSUANT TO SUBDIVI-
SION THREE OF SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWENTY-SIX OR SUBDIVISION FOUR OF
SECTION FIVE HUNDRED TEN OF THE VEHICLE AND TRAFFIC LAW, AND WHILE OPER-
ATING A MOTOR VEHICLE CAUSES DEATH OF ANOTHER PERSON;
S 4. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become law.