Driver faces civil citation, not criminal charge, in traffic accident that killed Jacksonville man

A man who rear-ended a broken-down car on a Jacksonville bridge, likely causing the stranded driver to be propelled off the bridge and into the water, has been charged with careless driving. The stranded driver was found dead by a fisherman several days after the crash, according to a report in the Florida Times-Union. The driver cited in this Jacksonville Traffic Case was going 65 mph in a 45 mph zone, the newspaper reported, and police said he was driving in a “careless or reckless manner.” Police have not said where the victim was standing when his car was struck, the newspaper reported. Careless driving is not a criminal charge, but is instead a traffic citation that results in a fine and points added to a driver’s license.

Jacksonville Traffic Cases such as this are extremely difficult when it comes to potential criminal charges. In this case, a criminal charge could be vehicular homicide. According to Florida law, vehicular homicide is the killing of another person “caused by the operation of a motor vehicle by another in a reckless manner likely to cause the death of, or great bodily harm to, another.” In this Jacksonville Traffic Case, the state apparently did not see that the drivers’ actions met this standard. When people see a case like this, it’s natural to want someone to be punished for something that results in the death of someone else, especially someone who was doing nothing wrong. Especially when, as the newspaper reported in this Jacksonville Traffic Case, when the accused driver has a history or traffic citations and even received another speeding ticket weeks after the crash that killed the Jacksonville man. But the criminal justice system is designed to be based solely on facts – and the need to prove a case to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.

In Jacksonville Traffic Cases, vehicular homicide is charged when a driver is putting other drivers in harm’s way by his or her actions, such as weaving in and out of traffic and speeding excessively. The driver does not even have to be the one whose vehicle physically hit the car where people were killed. That was proven in a Nassau County Traffic Case earlier this year, where a man was convicted of six counts of vehicular homicide for sideswiping a car the led to a chain reaction that killed six people in 2010. Every case has different elements and requires an extensive investigation by the state and police before choosing to file criminal charges in a Jacksonville Traffic Case.

If you or a loved one needs a criminal defense attorney in Jacksonville or the surrounding area, call The Mussallem Law Firm at (904) 365-5200 for a FREE CONSULTATION. Our Jacksonville Traffic Attorney, Victoria “Tori” Mussallem, is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.