Aggravated Vehicular Assault in Arizona: ARS 13-1204 click for a free consultation

Posted on September 1, 2025 in assault & violent crimes

Although some states have specific statutes for the crime of vehicular assault, Arizona is not one of them. Instead, Arizona Revised Statutes (ARS) include motor vehicle assault offenses under the general crime of aggravated assault.

If you have been charged with aggravated assault with a vehicle (dangerous instrument), please call Rosenstein Law Group at (480) 248-7666 or use our contact form to speak with an attorney.

What is Aggravated Assault in Arizona?

ARS 13-1204 is Arizona’s aggravated assault statute. It expands on Arizona’s criminal misdemeanor assault statute, ARS 13-1203. So, before we discuss what an aggravated assault is, we must first understand how Arizona law defines an assault crime.

Criminal Assault Generally

In Arizona, you can be charged with criminal assault if you do any of the following:

• Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly cause physical injury to someone else
• Intentionally put someone else in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury
• Knowingly touch someone else with the intent to injure, insult, or provoke that person

Aggravated Assault With a Motor Vehicle

Some kinds of criminal assault are more serious than others. Arizona law recognizes several kinds of aggravating factors that elevate misdemeanor assault into an aggravated assault. For our purposes here, we focus on one of them: using a dangerous instrument.

ARS 13-105(12) defines a dangerous instrument as “anything that under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted to be used, or threatened to be used is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury.” 

• A motor vehicle, like a car or a truck, can cause death or serious physical injury when it is driven in a way that results in death or serious physical injury. 
• A motor vehicle becomes a dangerous instrument when it is driven in a way that the driver is or should be aware that is likely to cause death or serious physical injury to someone else.
• A motor vehicle becomes a dangerous instrument when the driver uses it to threaten death or serious physical injury.

Using the statutory terms above, here are some examples of how a motor vehicle becomes a dangerous instrument under Arizona’s aggravated assault statute:

• You engage in a drag race on a public road and strike a pedestrian or another vehicle, killing or seriously injuring another person.
• You catch your spouse leaving a restaurant with another person with whom you suspect your spouse is having an extramarital affair. In a fit of rage, you attempt to run down that other person in your car.
• You are driving on a street when you encounter a bicyclist in your lane. Irritated that the cyclist will not get out of your way, you roll down your window and shout, “I’m going to run you off the road,” then gun your motor and pass dangerously close so that the cyclist believes you intend to collide with him.

These are all ways you can commit “vehicular assault” or “aggravated vehicular assault” in Arizona, even though no statute exists in this state that goes by that name.

DUI With Injury as Aggravated Assault

If you are accused of driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs or alcohol in an accident that causes death or serious physical injury, then you could be charged with aggravated assault with a dangerous instrument.

What Are the Penalties for Vehicular Assault in Arizona?

With a few exceptions, under ARS 13-1204(F), aggravated assault involving the use of a motor vehicle as a dangerous instrument in Arizona is a Class 3 felony. If you are convicted of a Class 3 felony, you will face the following punishments:

• A minimum prison sentence of 5 years
• A presumptive prison sentence of 7.5 years
• A maximum prison sentence of 15 years

In cases where the victim of the vehicular assault is a police officer or a person under the age of 15, the offense escalates to a Class 2 felony. If you are convicted of this level of aggravated assault, the following penalties apply:

• A minimum prison sentence of 7 years
• A presumptive prison sentence of 10.5 years
• A maximum prison sentence of 21 years

Along with mandatory prison time, you may also face a fine of up to $150,000 for a felony-level conviction. You can also be subject to separate penalties for any other charges you face from the same incident that may apply to the facts of your case, like a DUI charge.

In addition, a felony conviction on your public record in Arizona carries collateral negative consequences, including:

• The loss of any state professional licenses you may have
• The loss of some civil rights, like the right to buy and/or possess a firearm and the right to vote
• Trouble finding employment and/or a place to live
• Revocation of your driver’s license

What Are Defenses to an Aggravated Assault Charge Involving a Motor Vehicle?

Defenses to a charge of aggravated assault when a motor vehicle is involved are much the same as defenses to a charge of assault under ARS 13-1203. These include:

• You lacked the necessary intent or knowledge to commit an assault
• You were not behaving in a reckless manner
• The other person’s apprehension of death or serious bodily injury was not reasonable

Note that any real or threatened physical injury must be serious in nature to fit the definition of an aggravated assault. ARS 13-105(13) defines “serious physical injury” as one that:

• Creates a reasonable risk of death
• Causes serious and permanent disfigurement
• Causes serious impairment of health
• Causes the loss of protracted impairment of function in a bodily organ or limb

Also, depending on police conduct during your arrest or your time spent in police custody, you may have other defenses, including but not limited to:

• Failing to inform you of your Miranda rights prior to being questioned while in police custody.
• Violating your Miranda rights while you are in police custody, like continuing to ask you questions after you invoke your right not to speak to the police without the presence of an attorney, and/or pressuring you into a coerced, involuntary confession or other statement against your self-interest.
• Making an inaccurate or untruthful police report in connection with the alleged aggravated assault incident.

Have You Been Charged With Aggravated Assault With a Motor Vehicle?

Aggravated assault is a serious crime in Arizona because you could be convicted of a dangerous Class 3 or Class 2 felony even without injuring someone. 

Just the threat or reasonable apprehension of death or serious bodily injury can be enough for a state court to send you to prison for years, impose crushing criminal financial penalties on you, and leave you with lasting repercussions on your public record long after you finish your sentence.

Having experienced criminal defense legal counsel to represent you in an aggravated assault case is essential to securing your best possible outcome, in plea negotiation or at trial. 

We pride ourselves on finding all the weaknesses in the prosecution’s aggravated assault case, using the best possible legal defenses. 

Our extensive experience has given us a great deal of understanding about how evidence is gathered and how it can be compromised. We scrutinize every piece of evidence in the prosecution’s arsenal and do anything we can to cast doubt on its integrity.

You can call Rosenstein Law Group 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (480) 248-7666 or use our contact form to request a free consultation with an aggravated assault defense lawyer who knows and understands forensic evidence.

Some of the evidence our experts can find is time-sensitive, like tire tracks, so if you or a loved one is a suspect in an aggravated assault case, do not wait until charges are filed to meet with us. Call Rosenstein Law Group today.