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North Carolina v. McGill11/5/1985
!--REF-->286 N.C. 304, 210 S.E.2d 407 (1974). Under the first alternative in this definition, one who causes the death of another merely by violating the statutory prohibition against driving while impaired would be guilty of involuntary manslaughter. However, this Court generally has considered violations of safety statutes in terms of culpable negligence, the second alternative: "An intentional, wilful or wanton violation of a statute or ordinance, designed for the protection of human life or limb, which proximately results in injury or death, is culpable negligence." Cope, 204 N.C. at 31, 167 S.E. at 458.
There is no question that N.C.G.S. 20-138, which is included in Part 10, "Operation of Vehicles and Rules of the Road," of the motor vehicle chapter, is a statute designed for the protection of human life and limb, as is its successor, N.C.G.S. 20-138.1. As such, it is a matter of law that a violation of its provisions constitutes culpable negligence.
We therefore hold that when a death is caused by one who was driving under the influence of alcohol, only two elements must exist for the successful prosecution of manslaughter: a willful violation of N.C.G.S. 20-138 and the causal link between that violation and the death. See State v. Dills, 204 N.C. 33, 167 S.E. 459 (1933). If these elements are present, the state need not demonstrate that defendant violated any other rule of the road nor
that his conduct was in other way wrongful. In this regard, the instructions of the trial judge were essentially proper.
The decision of the Court of Appeals is
Reversed.
Disposition
Reversed.
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