BILL NUMBER: S4774A
SPONSOR: RYAN C
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the penal law, in relation to establishing the offense
of vehicular homicide
 
PURPOSE:
To create a new section in the New York State Penal Law that establishes
the crime of vehicular homicide as a class B felony, addressing cases
where a person causes the death of another through reckless, depraved,
and intentional conduct while operating a motor vehicle.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 adds a new section 125.13-a to the penal law, defining vehicu-
lar homicide as occurring when a person, while operating a motor vehicle
under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life,
intentionally engages in conduct that causes the death of another
person. The offense is classified as a class B felony.
Section 2 provides that the act shall take effect on the one hundred
eightieth day after it becomes law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Drivers with suspended licenses in New York State are still getting
behind the wheel - and killing people. Ten percent of all crashes in New
York are caused by drivers with suspended or revoked licenses, and 75
percent of those drivers still get behind the wheel. In January 2018,
13year-old Kevin Flores was biking home from school in Ridgewood, Queens
when he was killed by a truck driver. The driver had his license revoked
nine times for traffic infractions and had bragged about it on his Face-
book page. The perpetrator in this case was arrested multiple times in
the past for the same offense and was still driving improperly.
Current New York State law includes charges for criminally negligent
homicide, manslaughter, and aggravated vehicular homicide, but there
exists a gap in addressing the most egregious conduct behind the wheel-
cases where a driver, with depraved indifference to human life, engages
in intentional conduct that results in a fatality. This bill creates a
distinct and appropriately severe offense to hold such individuals
accountable. Examples might include intentionally speeding through
crowded pedestrian areas, participating in illegal street races on
public roads, or intentionally running red lights at high speeds in
defiance of known risks. These actions go beyond negligence and into
conduct so reckless that they reflect a total disregard for human life.
By establishing vehicular homicide as a class B felony, this bill
ensures that the penalty aligns with the moral and social gravity of the
offense, while also providing prosecutors with a clearer legal avenue to
pursue justice for victims and their families in the most egregious
traffic-related fatalities.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-24: S.3602 (Mannion) - Referred to Codes.
2021-22: S.1228 (Gianaris) - Referred to Codes.
2019-20: S.2149 (Gianaris) - Referred to Codes.
2017-18: S.3299 (Gianaris) - Passed Senate.
2015-16: S.2484-A (Gianaris) - Passed Senate.
2013-14: S.6386 (Gianaris) - Defeated in Codes.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it
becomes law.

Statutes affected:
S4774: 120.03 penal law, 120.04 penal law