ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 444
(By Senators Unger and Hunter)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported March 24, 2005.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §17C-4A-1, §17C-4A-2
and §17C-4A-3, all relating to careless driving which causes
the unintentional death or serious bodily injury of another
person generally; defining "serious bodily injury"; providing
enhanced criminal penalties for violations of chapter
seventeen of said code; and providing assessment of an
additional three points against the driver's license of a
person convicted of a violation which causes the unintentional
death or serious bodily injury of another person by the
Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §17C-4A-1, §17C-4A-2
and §17C-4A-3, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4A. CARELESS DRIVING CAUSING UNINTENTIONAL DEATH OR SERIOUS BODILY INJURY TO ANOTHER PERSON.
§17C-4A-1. Definitions.
As used in this article:
"Serious bodily injury" means any bodily injury which creates
a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent
disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of function of any
bodily member or organ.
§17C-4A-2. Enhanced penalties for careless driving causing
unintentional death or serious bodily injury to another
person; penalties
.
Any person who drives any vehicle upon any street or highway,
or upon any residential street, or in any parking area, or upon the
ways of any institution of higher education, whether public or
private, or upon the ways of any state institution, or upon the
property of any county boards of education, or upon any property
within the State Park and Public Recreation System established by
the Director of the Division of Natural Resources pursuant to
section three, article four, chapter twenty of this code who is
found beyond a reasonable doubt to have both violated a provision
of chapter seventeen of this code and also to have acted in the
absence of due care and attention, which violation of statute and
absence of due care and attention, in combination, proximately
caused a serious bodily injury or unintentional death, shall, upon
conviction of the violation, be both fined up to an additional two
thousand dollars and be assessed three additional points against the person's driver's license.
§17C-4A-3. Exceptions.
The provisions of this section do not apply to those areas
which have been temporarily closed for racing sport events or which
may be set aside by the Director of the Division of Natural
Resources within the State Park and Recreation System for exclusive
use by motorcycles or other recreational vehicles.