Aggravated Assault Charges for a Car Accident In Arizona

In State v. Williams, 175 Ariz. 98, 103, 854 P.2d 131, 136 (1993), the defendant was charged with aggravated assault for driving into the back of another vehicle and injuring a child. Id. at 99, 854 P.2d at 132. The court determined that the legislature did not intend the "dangerous crimes against children" statute 13-604.01, to apply to a case in which the child was "the unintended and unknown victim of someone's generalized unfocused conduct." Id. at 101, 103, 854 P.2d at 134, 136. The court cautioned, however, that knowledge of the victim's age is unnecessary, stating as follows: "When an individual targets a person, he or she generally assumes the risk that the victim will turn out to be within a protected age group. The Court held only that the victim must be the person against whom the crime is directed, not that the accused must know that the person is under fifteen." Id. at 103, 854 P.2d at 136.