Arizona Laws 28-672. Causing serious physical injury or death by a moving violation; time limitation; penalties; violation; classification; definition
A. A person is guilty of causing serious physical injury or death by a moving violation if the person violates any one of the following and the violation results in an accident causing serious physical injury or death to another person:
Attorney's Note
Under the Arizona Laws, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:| Class | Prison | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 misdemeanor | up to 6 months | up to $2,500 |
Terms Used In Arizona Laws 28-672
- Action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Department: means the department of transportation acting directly or through its duly authorized officers and agents. See Arizona Laws 28-101
- Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
- Drive: means to operate or be in actual physical control of a motor vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101
- Driver: means a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See Arizona Laws 28-101
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- License: means any license, temporary instruction permit or temporary license issued under the laws of this state or any other state that pertain to the licensing of persons to operate motor vehicles. See Arizona Laws 28-601
- Nonresident: means a person who is not a resident of this state as defined in section 28-2001. See Arizona Laws 28-101
- Person: includes a corporation, company, partnership, firm, association or society, as well as a natural person. See Arizona Laws 1-215
- Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
- State: means a state of the United States and the District of Columbia. See Arizona Laws 28-101
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
- Traffic: means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles and other conveyances either singly or together while using a highway for purposes of travel. See Arizona Laws 28-601
- Traffic survival school: means a school that is licensed pursuant to chapter 8, article 7. See Arizona Laws 28-101
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
1. Section 28-645, subsection A, paragraph 3, subdivision (a).
2. Section 28-710.
3. Section 28-729.
4. Section 28-771.
5. Section 28-772.
6. Section 28-773.
7. Section 28-792.
8. Section 28-794.
9. Section 28-797, subsection F, G, H or I.
10. Section 28-855, subsection B.
11. Section 28-857, subsection A.
12. Section 28-914.
B. A person who violates this section shall attend and successfully complete traffic survival school educational sessions that are designed to improve the safety and habits of drivers and that are approved by the department. In addition, the court may order the person to perform community restitution.
C. The court shall report a conviction for a violation of this section to the department and:
1. For a first violation of this section, shall direct the department to suspend the person’s driving privilege or restrict the person’s driving privilege as described in section 28-144 for at least ninety days and not more than one hundred eighty days if the violation results in serious physical injury and at least one hundred eighty days and not more than one year if the violation results in death.
2. For a second or subsequent violation of this section within a period of thirty-six months, shall direct the department to suspend the person’s driving privilege for one hundred eighty days if the violation results in serious physical injury and one year if the violation results in death.
D. If a person’s driving privilege is suspended pursuant to any other statute because of an incident involving a violation of this section, the suspension period prescribed in subsection C of this section shall run consecutively with the other suspension period.
E. If a person fails to successfully complete traffic survival school educational sessions or perform community restitution pursuant to this section, the court shall notify the department and the department shall promptly suspend the driver license or permit of the driver or the privilege of a nonresident to drive a motor vehicle in this state until the order is satisfied.
F. If the person who suffers serious physical injury as a result of a violation of this section appears before the court in which the action is pending at any time before trial and acknowledges receipt of satisfaction for the injury, on payment of the costs incurred, the court shall order that the prosecution be dismissed and the defendant be discharged. The reasons for the order shall be set forth and entered of record, and the order shall be a bar to another prosecution for the same offense.
G. Restitution awarded pursuant to section 13-603 as a result of a violation of this section shall not exceed $100,000.
H. A prosecution for a violation of this section must be commenced within two years after actual discovery of the offense by the state or the political subdivision having jurisdiction or discovery by the state or the political subdivision that should have occurred with the exercise of reasonable diligence, whichever first occurs.
I. A person who violates this section is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.
J. For the purposes of this section, "serious physical injury" has the same meaning prescribed in section 13-105.