Car Crash? Intoxicated vs. Not?

Question

Okay here's the scenario:

Car One holds four people (all 21 or over) and they get in a car crash with Car Two which is holding two people. 3 out of 4 people in the first car die. Both people in the second car die. Now the one person in Car One who lived wasn't driving, he was in the backseat. The driver and passenger in Car One were both drunk. Let's say though that the one person who didn't die was intoxicated as well. What would his punishment be in a court of law? What if he had been sober? What would his punishment be then?

Answer 1

Who caused the crash?  What state are you in?  The survivor better get a lawyer if he was in the car that caused the crash.

Answer 2

A person over 21 who is intoxicated, but not driving will face no criminal or civil penalties.

People are not held responsible for the criminal or negligent acts of others.

Answer 3

Girl, it's not illegal to be drunk.  I don't think he should get any charges because it doesn't specify any wrongdoings in his account.

The person that would probably be punished would be the driver that caused the accident, but since he isn't alive anymore...

Answer 4

He didn't do anything so why would he be charged with anything?  Maybe an accessory because he allowed his friend to drive drunk?

Answer 5

No charges would be filed against the passenger of a vehicle in the crash.  No matter how drunk he was.  If he was underage then he could be charged with drinking underage but this charge probably wouldn't even be made against him..........The passenger has probably been through enough at that point.

Answer 6

He would be tried as an adult. “Criminal homicide constitutes vehicular homicide when a person negligently operates a motor vehicle or a

boat in a manner that causes the death of another human being…’negligence’ means that a person fails to be aware of a risk that death will occur. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that the failure to be aware of it constitutes a deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.”

Answer 7

I don't think he would be punishable. He wasn't the one driving intoxicated. If he had been sober, why wasn't he driving? But regardless, he was not the one who caused the accident killing 5 people while intoxicated. There's a chance that they could try to charge him as being an accessory to murder.. But it won't go through because he was in the back with no intentions of killing anyone.

Answer 8

If he was not driving, there is nothing that he did wrong.  He cannot be charged criminally nor civilly.