State v. Williams

OPINION

MARTONE, Justice.

Arizona enhances sentences and imposes unique penalties for certain crimes, such as sexual assault and molestation, when committed against a minor under fifteen years old. A.R.S. § 13-604.01. These are called “dangerous crimes against children.” We are asked to decide whether the use of a motor vehicle which injures a person who fortuitously happens to be under fifteen years old is one of these crimes. We hold that it is not.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 26, 1986, Roger Williams, while drunk, rammed his pickup truck into the back of a station wagon. A fourteen year old boy…