CALCRIM No. 590

§ 191.5(a))

The defendant is charged [in Count] with gross vehicular

manslaughter while intoxicated [in violation of Penal Code section

191.5(a)].

To prove that the defendant is guilty of this crime, the People must

prove that:

1. The defendant (drove under the influence of (an alcoholic

beverage/ [or] a drug) [or under the combined influence of an

alcoholic beverage and a drug]/drove while having a blood

alcohol level of 0.08 or higher/drove under the influence of (an

alcoholic beverage/ [or] a drug) [or under the combined influence

of an alcoholic beverage and a drug] when under the age of 21/

drove while having a blood alcohol level of 0.05 or higher when

under the age of 21);

2. While driving that vehicle under the influence of (an alcoholic

beverage/ [or] a drug) [or under the combined influence of an

alcoholic beverage and a drug], the defendant also committed (a/

an) (misdemeanor[,]/ [or] infraction[,]/ [or] otherwise lawful act

that might cause death);

3. The defendant committed the (misdemeanor[,]/ [or] infraction[,]/

[or] otherwise lawful act that might cause death) with gross

negligence;

AND

4. The defendant’s grossly negligent conduct caused the death of

another person.

[The People allege that the defendant committed the following

(misdemeanor[s]/ [and] infraction[s]): <insert

misdemeanor[s] /infraction[s]>.

Instruction[s] tell[s] you what the People must prove in

order to prove that the defendant committed <insert

misdemeanor[s]/infraction[s]>.]

[The People [also] allege that the defendant committed the following

otherwise lawful act(s) that might cause death: <insert

act[s] alleged>.]

Instruction[s] tell[s] you what the People must prove in

order to prove that the defendant (drove under the influence of (an

alcoholic beverage/ [or] a drug) [or under the combined influence of an

alcoholic beverage and a drug]/drove while having a blood alcohol level

of 0.08 or higher/drove under the influence of (an alcoholic beverage/

[or] a drug) [or under the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage

and a drug] when under the age of 21/drove while having a blood

alcohol level of 0.05 or higher when under the age of 21).

Gross negligence involves more than ordinary carelessness, inattention,

or mistake in judgment. A person acts with gross negligence when:

1. He or she acts in a reckless way that creates a high risk of death

or great bodily injury;

AND

2. A reasonable person would have known that acting in that way

would create such a risk.

In other words, a person acts with gross negligence when the way he or

she acts is so different from the way an ordinarily careful person would

act in the same situation that his or her act amounts to disregard for

human life or indifference to the consequences of that act.

The combination of driving a vehicle while under the influence of (an

alcoholic beverage/ [and/or] a drug) and violating a traffic law is not

enough by itself to establish gross negligence. In evaluating whether the

defendant acted with gross negligence, consider the level of the

defendant’s intoxication, if any; the way the defendant drove; and any

other relevant aspects of the defendant’s conduct.

[Great bodily injury means significant or substantial physical injury. It is

an injury that is greater than moderate harm.]

[A person facing a sudden and unexpected emergency situation not

caused by that person’s own negligence is required only to use the same

care and judgment that an ordinarily careful person would use in the

same situation, even if it appears later that a different course of action

would have been safer.]

[An act causes death if the death is the direct, natural, and probable

consequence of the act and the death would not have happened without

the act. A natural and probable consequence is one that a reasonable

person would know is likely to happen if nothing unusual intervenes. In

deciding whether a consequence is natural and probable, consider all of

the circumstances established by the evidence.]

[There may be more than one cause of death. An act causes death only if

it is a substantial factor in causing the death. A substantial factor is more

than a trivial or remote factor. However, it does not need to be the only

factor that causes the death.]

HOMICIDE CALCRIM No. 590

[The People allege that the defendant committed the following

(misdemeanor[s][,]/ [and] infraction[s][,]/ [and] otherwise lawful act[s]

that might cause death): <insert alleged predicate acts when

multiple acts alleged>. Y ou may not find the defendant guilty unless all of

you agree that the People have proved that the defendant committed at

least one of these alleged (misdemeanors[,]/ [or] infractions[,]/ [or]

otherwise lawful acts that might cause death) and you all agree on which

(misdemeanor[,]/ [or] infraction[,]/ [or] otherwise lawful act that might

cause death) the defendant committed.]

[The People have the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that

the defendant committed gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

If the People have not met this burden, you must find the defendant not

guilty of that crime. Y ou must consider whether the defendant is guilty

of the lesser crime[s] of <insert lesser offense[s]>.]

New January 2006; Revised June 2007, September 2020, October 2025