State v. Ramser - 17 Wash. 2d 581, 136 P.2d 1013 (1943)

Rule:

One may be convicted of manslaughter if he causes the death of another by doing some act in a negligent manner, and that it is not necessary for the jury to find that the accused was guilty of gross negligence before a conviction may be had, but a finding that he failed to exercise ordinary care under the circumstances is sufficient to support a conviction. 

Facts:

Robert C. Ramser was towing a building on a public highway at night without lights, when it was rear-ended by a car, killing the car's occupants. Ramser was charged and convicted of manslaughter based on the evidence that he did not have a permit to have been on the road and he failed to have any flares or warning lights. 

Issue:

Was the conviction for manslaughter proper?

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The court reversed the judgment and remanded for a new trial because the failure of Ramser to have a permit to transport the building along the county road contributed in no way to the car occupants' deaths, and it was error to have admitted the evidence and given the instructions that it was not necessary to have proven that defendant negligently, unlawfully, and feloniously operated his truck in moving the building in all of the alleged unlawful ways set forth in the information, but that it was sufficient if the jurors were satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant moved the building in any one of the alleged unlawful ways set forth in the information, including the lack of the permit. The court noted that when defendant was charged with manslaughter, there had to have been a causal connection between the negligence and the deaths.