Opinion ID: 1625577
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Heading: Vehicular Homicide.

Text: Cox was charged with violating Iowa Code section 707.6A(1)(b) (1989) (as amended by 90 Acts, ch. 1251, § 55), which provides: A person commits a class C felony when the person unintentionally causes the death of another by ... [d]riving a motor vehicle in a reckless manner with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property, in violation of section 321.277. Section 321.277 provides: Any person who drives any vehicle in such manner as to indicate either a willful or a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving. Every person convicted of reckless driving shall be guilty of a simple misdemeanor. Before the adoption of section 707.6A, a driver involved in a fatal vehicle accident could be charged with involuntary manslaughter. Prior to 1978, involuntary manslaughter was defined by case law. Recklessness was required in the manslaughter charge involving motor vehicle cases. State v. Graff, 228 Iowa 159, 165-66, 290 N.W. 97, 100 (1940). After the enactment of the new criminal code on January 1, 1978, involuntary manslaughter was defined to be a class D felony when the person unintentionally caused the death of another person by the commission of a public offense. We construe this statute to include the common law requirement of recklessness. State v. Conner, 292 N.W.2d 682, 686 (Iowa 1980). In Conner, we affirmed the district court's dismissal of the criminal charge of involuntary manslaughter where the State was relying upon the defendant's running of a red light as the public offense to support the charge. Id. at 683.