Penalties for Drunk Driving Vehicular Homicide
Victims of drunk driving crashes are given a life sentence. In instances of vehicular homicide
caused by drunk drivers, these offenders rarely receive a life sentence in prison.
Laws vary greatly on the amount of jail or prison time a drunk driver who kills an innocent
person may receive. Most states have laws specifying penalties for drunk drivers who kill
another person. Other states, like North Dakota and Arizona, do not but are able to bring charges
that may bring incarceration through other statutes.
Laws providing penalties for drunk drivers who kill allow for vast judicial discretion. As a
result, offenders may receive days in jail followed by probation or in very rare instances—a life
sentence.
This document covers statutes providing for penalties to be brought against a drunk driver who
kills another person through the operation of a motor vehicle, either intentionally or negligently.
Approximate Jail or Prison Sentences Possible in
Traffic Crash Deaths Caused by a Drunk Driver*
Alabama: 1 to 10 years
Alaska: 1 to 99 years
Arizona: 1 to 22 years
Arkansas: 5 to 20 years
California: 0 to 10 years
Colorado: 0 to 24 years
Connecticut: 1 to 10 years
Delaware: 1 to 5 years
DC: 0 to 30 years
Florida: 0 to 15 years
Georgia: 0 to 15 years
Hawaii: 0 to 10 years
Idaho: 0 to 15 years
Illinois: 1 to 28 years
Indiana: 2 to 20 years
Iowa: 1 to 25 years
Kansas: 0 to 172 months
Kentucky: 0 to 10 years
Louisiana: 3 to 30 years
Maine: 6 months to 10 years
Maryland: 0 to 5 years
Massachusetts: 30 days to 15 years
Michigan: 0 to 20 years
Minnesota: 0 to 10 years
Mississippi: 5 to 25 years
Missouri: 0 to 15 years
Montana: 0 to 30 years
Nebraska: 1 to 50 years
Nevada: 2 to 25 years
New Hampshire: 0 to 15 years
New Jersey: 5 to 10 years
New Mexico: 0 to 6 years
New York: 0 to 15 years
North Carolina: 15 to 480 months
North Dakota: 0 to life
imprisonment
Ohio: 1 to 15 years
Oklahoma: 0 to 1 year
Oregon: 0 to 20 years
Pennsylvania: 0 to 10 years
Rhode Island: 5 to 20 years
South Carolina: 1 to 25 years
South Dakota: 0 to 15 years
Tennessee: 8 to 60 years
Texas: 2 to 20 years
Utah: 0 to 15 years
Vermont: 1 to 15 years
Virginia: 1 to 20 years
Washington: 31 to 177 months
West Virginia: 90 days to 10 years
Wisconsin: 0 to 40 years
Wyoming: 0 to 20 years