New York Consolidated Laws

N.Y. Penal Law § 120.03 (2026)

Vehicular assault in the second degree

✓ current as of May 2026
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§ 120.03 Vehicular assault in the second degree.
  A person is guilty of vehicular assault in the second degree when he
or she causes serious physical injury to another person, and either:
  (1) operates a motor vehicle in violation of subdivision two, three,
four or four-a of section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and
traffic law or operates a vessel or public vessel in violation of
paragraph (b), (c), (d) or (e) of subdivision two of section
forty-nine-a of the navigation law, and as a result of such intoxication
or impairment by the use of a drug, or by the combined influence of
drugs or of alcohol and any drug or drugs, operates such motor vehicle,
vessel or public vessel in a manner that causes such serious physical
injury to such other person, or
  (2) operates a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of
more than eighteen thousand pounds which contains flammable gas,
radioactive materials or explosives in violation of subdivision one of
section eleven hundred ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law, and
such flammable gas, radioactive materials or explosives is the cause of
such serious physical injury, and as a result of such impairment by the
use of alcohol, operates such motor vehicle in a manner that causes such
serious physical injury to such other person, or
  (3) operates a snowmobile in violation of paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of
subdivision one of section 25.24 of the parks, recreation and historic
preservation law or operates an all terrain vehicle as defined in
paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section twenty-two hundred
eighty-one of the vehicle and traffic law and in violation of
subdivision two, three, four, or four-a of section eleven hundred
ninety-two of the vehicle and traffic law, and as a result of such
intoxication or impairment by the use of a drug, or by the combined
influence of drugs or of alcohol and any drug or drugs, operates such
snowmobile or all terrain vehicle in a manner that causes such serious
physical injury to such other person.
  If it is established that the person operating such motor vehicle,
vessel, public vessel, snowmobile or all terrain vehicle caused such
serious physical injury while unlawfully intoxicated or impaired by the
use of alcohol or a drug, then there shall be a rebuttable presumption
that, as a result of such intoxication or impairment by the use of
alcohol or a drug, or by the combined influence of drugs or of alcohol
and any drug or drugs, such person operated the motor vehicle, vessel,
public vessel, snowmobile or all terrain vehicle in a manner that caused
such serious physical injury, as required by this section.
  Vehicular assault in the second degree is a class E felony.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 60 cases (4 in the last 5 years), 1985–2024 · leading case: People v. Mojica, 62 A.D.3d 100 (N.Y. App. Div. 2009).
People v. Mojica, 62 A.D.3d 100 (N.Y. App. Div. 2009). · cites it 12× “Penal Law § 120.03 (1) provides that a person is guilty of vehicular assault in the second degree when he or she causes serious physical injury to another person, inter alia, while operating a motor vehicle while impaired or intoxicated and causes that serious physical injury as…”
People v. Valencia, 932 N.E.2d 871 (N.Y. 2010). · cites it 4× “" Defendant was indicted for, among other offenses, vehicular assault in the second degree for causing serious physical injury to another person while driving in an intoxicated condition (Penal Law § 120.03 [1]), assault in the second degree for causing serious physical injury…”
People v. Hogue, 136 A.D.3d 1351 (N.Y. App. Div. 2016). “*1352 Memorandum: Defendant appeals from a judgment convicting her, upon a jury verdict, of vehicular assault in the second degree (Penal Law § 120.03 [1]), two counts of driving while ability impaired by drugs (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 [4]), and driving while ability…”
People v. Ferguson, 2021 NY Slip Op 02563 (N.Y. App. Div. 2021). · cites it 2× “in a manner that causes such serious physical injury to such other person" (Penal Law § 120.03 [1]). As is relevant to counts 1, 5 and 8 of the indictment, reckless driving is defined as "driving .”
People v. Prescott, 745 N.E.2d 1000 (N.Y. 2001). “Felony liability may also be based on a prior conviction for vehicular assault in the first and second degrees (Penal Law §§ 120.03, 120.04) or vehicular manslaughter in the first or second degrees (Penal Law §§ 125.”
People v. Hilker, 133 A.D.2d 986 (N.Y. App. Div. 1987). “Thereafter, in a two-count indictment, defendant was indicted for the crime of vehicular assault in the second degree (Penal Law § 120.03) and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 [2]).”
Jason C. Weldy v. Piedmont Airlines, Inc., 985 F.2d 57 (2d Cir. 1993). “Under New York law, most assaults are felonies, see N.Y. Penal Law §§ 120.03 (Vehicular assault in the second degree), 120.”
People v. Extale, 967 N.E.2d 179 (N.Y. 2012). “04 (1), (2) (b); see former Penal Law § 120.03 (1)]). Defendant was convicted of these and other charges, but the Appellate Division ordered a new trial on the first degree assault and first degree vehicular assault counts, holding that they required inconsistent mental states…”
People v. Snow, 138 A.D.2d 217 (N.Y. App. Div. 1988). · cites it 2× “05 [4]), second degree vehicular assault (Penal Law § 120.03 [2]), leaving the scene of an accident (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 600 [2]), resisting arrest (Penal Law § 205.”
People v. Hoffman, 283 A.D.2d 928 (N.Y. App. Div. 2001). “We therefore modify the judgment by reducing the sentences imposed on those counts to terms of imprisonment of 1 to 4 years. The sentences as modified are not unduly harsh or severe.”
People v. Rodriguez, 946 N.E.2d 726 (N.Y. 2011). “12), two counts of vehicular assault in the second degree (Penal Law § 120.03 [1]), and two counts of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 [2], [3]).”
People v. Whelan, 165 A.D.2d 313 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991). “05 [4]), vehicular assault in the second degree (Penal Law § 120.03 [2]), driving while intoxicated (per se) (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 [2]), driving while intoxicated (Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192 [3]), and violation of Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1128 (a).”
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