If you cause a car accident while intoxicated, and other people are seriously injured in the accident, is the DUI charge you face going to be more serious than a regular DUI charge? If so, how much more time can you face, under Michigan law?
If you cause a car accident while intoxicated, and other people are seriously injured in the accident, is the DUI charge you face going to be more serious than a regular DUI charge? If so, how much more time can you face, under Michigan law?
In most states, perhaps by now all states, causing serious injuries to another motorist, pedestrian, or even a passenger in your own vehicle while operating while impaired can subject the impaired driver to significantly increased penalties, and in some states it is not even necessary for the impaired driver to be responsible for the accident in order to face serious criminal charges.
In Michigan, under the drunk driving statute (MCL 257.625), causing a serious impairment of a body function of another person as the result of impaired driving is a five year felony, with significantly higher penalties that may apply if the driver has prior DUI/OUIL convictions and has very high blood alcohol levels. There's also similar provision for drunk/impaired driving causing death, a fifteen year felony with a potential twenty year sentence based upon the extent of impairment and the driver's priors.