§39.1. Vehicular negligent injuring

            A. Vehicular negligent injuring is the inflicting of any injury upon the person of a human being when caused proximately or caused directly by an offender engaged in the operation of, or in actual physical control of, any motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or other means of conveyance whenever any of the following conditions exists:

            (1) The offender is impaired by alcoholic beverages.

            (2) The offender's blood alcohol concentration is 0.08 percent or more by weight based upon grams of alcohol per one hundred cubic centimeters of blood.

            (3)(a) The offender is impaired by any other drug, combination of drugs, or combination of alcohol and drugs.

            (b) As used in this Section, the term "drug" means any substance or combination of substances that, when taken into the human body, can impair the ability of the person to operate a vehicle safely.

            (4), (5) Repealed by Acts 2024, No. 662, §3.

            B. The violation of a statute or ordinance shall be considered only as presumptive evidence of negligence as set forth in Subsection A.

            C.(1) Whoever commits the crime of vehicular negligent injuring shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

            (2) Whoever commits the crime of vehicular negligent injuring and who had a blood alcohol concentration, at the time of the commission of the offense, of at least 0.15 percent but less than 0.20 percent by weight based on grams of alcohol per one hundred cubic centimeters of blood shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned for not less than seven days nor more than six months. At least seven days of the sentence imposed by this Paragraph shall be served without the benefit of probation or suspension of sentence.

            (3) Whoever commits the crime of vehicular negligent injuring and who had a blood alcohol concentration, at the time of the commission of the offense, of at least 0.20 percent by weight based on grams of alcohol per one hundred cubic centimeters of blood shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars and imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than six months. At least thirty days of the sentence imposed by this Paragraph shall be served without the benefit of probation or suspension of sentence.

            Added by Acts 1983, No. 633, §1; Acts 1985, No. 747, §1; Acts 1988, No. 279, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1020, §1, eff. July 11, 1997; Acts 2001, No. 781, §1, eff. Sept. 30, 2003; Acts 2001, No. 1163, §5; Acts 2003, No. 758, §1, eff. Sept. 30, 2003; Acts 2024, No. 523, §1; Acts 2024, No. 662, §§1, 3.

NOTE: Section 6 of Acts 2001, No. 781, provides that the provisions of the Act shall become null and of no effect if and when Section 351 of P.L. 106-346 regarding the withholding of federal highway funds for failure to enact a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level is repealed or invalidated for any reason.