Va. Court of Appeals tosses reckless driving conviction in fatal crash

The Virginia Court of Appeals has tossed a Fauquier County jury’s conviction of a driver for reckless driving. The driver struck a stopped motorcyclist, who was waiting to make a legal left-hand turn, and who was fatally injured. Rear-ended him at 47 mph in broad daylight. A State Police investigation determined the motorcyclist was plainly visible for at least 700 feet and that the driver did not slow. To make this post relevant, one assumes in a similar set of facts involving a cyclist, the Virginia courts would rule similarly.

The court found that operating a motor vehicle in such a fashion did not rise to recklessness. The court reasoned that a reckless charge is only supported if the driver both foresaw the results of his actions and failed to take action.

From Virginia Coalition of Motorcyclists:

In coming to its decision, the court noted that reckless driving requires more than mere negligence. The court stated that “[T]he reckless actor is aware of the risk and disregards it; the negligent actor is not aware of the risk but should have been aware of it.” The Court concluded that the driver who killed Raleigh Gary Nelson while he was stopped on his motorcycle fell into the latter category rather than the former.

Back in 2014, VCOM attempted to change state law to make killing or gravely injuring another person in a crash per se reckless driving in most situations, just as it is for being cited for speeding at over 80 mph. Reckless driving is currently punishable by up to a $2500 fine and 1 year in jail.

The case is Cady v. Commonwealth.