Vehicular Assault Defense in St. Augustine

Former Prosecutors Build Your Defense for Serious Driving Charges

Florida doesn’t use vehicular assault as the formal name for a specific offense. Allegations involving an impaired or reckless driver and an injured person may instead result in charges such as DUI with serious bodily injury. Canan Law represents clients facing DUI serious bodily injury and DUI manslaughter charges in St. Augustine and throughout Northeast Florida.

Daniel Hilbert is board-certified in criminal trial law by The Florida Bar, and several of our criminal defense attorneys previously served as state prosecutors. We have handled more than 250 jury trials across our practice areas and bring 85 years of combined practice experience to our work.

How Florida Charges Conduct Called Vehicular Assault

The charge depends on what prosecutors allege about the driver’s conduct, impairment, causation, and the resulting injury. Two relevant offenses under Florida law are DUI causing serious bodily injury and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury.

DUI with Serious Bodily Injury

Florida Statute Section 316.193(3)(c)(2) classifies DUI causing or contributing to serious bodily injury as a third-degree felony. Under Florida Statute Section 316.1933(1), serious bodily injury means a physical condition that creates a substantial risk of death, serious personal disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.

Reckless Driving Causing Serious Bodily Injury

Florida Statute Section 316.192 defines reckless driving as operating a vehicle with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of people or property. When the conduct causes serious bodily injury, the offense becomes a felony in the third degree. Reckless driving involving property damage or an injury that doesn’t meet the serious bodily injury threshold is a distinct offense.

Potential Penalties for a Serious Injury Driving Charge

A third-degree felony conviction for DUI with serious bodily injury can carry up to five years in state prison, up to five years of probation, and a fine of up to $5,000. A conviction also requires a minimum three-year driver license revocation. Florida law doesn’t permit a court to withhold adjudication on a felony DUI conviction.

Reckless driving causing serious bodily injury is also punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. The sentence depends on the charge, criminal history, applicable sentencing rules, and facts established in the case.

Restitution & Financial Losses

Florida law can require restitution for actual losses resulting from a DUI injury offense. Depending on the evidence, those losses may include medical expenses, future medical expenses, and lost wages. Restitution is separate from fines and other criminal penalties.

DUI Manslaughter After a Fatal Crash

DUI manslaughter applies when an alleged DUI crash causes a death rather than serious bodily injury to a surviving person. It is a second-degree felony with a mandatory minimum prison term of four years and permanent driver license revocation. Because the charge and penalties differ substantially, the injury and causation evidence requires careful review.

The St. Johns County Criminal Court Process

A DUI arrest can create an immediate license issue separate from the criminal prosecution. A driver generally has 10 days after the arrest to contact the Florida DMV, request a hearing concerning the administrative suspension, and seek an extension of a temporary license. Missing that deadline can limit the available administrative options.

The local criminal process typically begins with a first appearance and proceeds to arraignment in Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit. Discovery, negotiations, and motion hearings may follow. If the case isn’t resolved, it may proceed to trial, although the sequence varies with the allegations and procedural history.

St. Johns County felony cases are handled in Circuit Court, while County Court handles misdemeanors and lesser offenses. Criminal proceedings are heard at the Richard O. Watson Judicial Center in St. Augustine.

Evidence That Can Shape the Defense

Defense analysis begins with the elements prosecutors must prove. Depending on the allegations, we may examine whether the evidence establishes impairment or willful or wanton driving, whether the alleged conduct caused the injury, and whether the condition satisfies Florida’s statutory definition of serious bodily injury.

Relevant evidence may include:

• The legal basis and circumstances of the traffic stop
• Field sobriety testing and officer observations
• Breath, blood, or urine testing and associated records
• Crash-scene evidence and vehicle information
• Witness accounts and injury documentation

The relevant issues vary from case to case. We examine the available evidence and identify the factual, scientific, and legal questions raised by the charge. Our attorneys work as a team to test ideas and develop a strategy grounded in more than the arrest report.

Discuss Your DUI Serious Bodily Injury Charge with Our Firm

Early legal review can clarify the criminal case, the separate license process, and the decisions ahead. We take a deliberate, strategic, and decisive approach to evaluating evidence and supporting each client’s position.