18 U.S.C. § 2119 makes it a crime for anyone to take or attempt to take a motor vehicle that has been transported in interstate or foreign commerce from a person or in the presence of someone by force and violence or by intimidation with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm. 18 U.S.C. § 2119 describes three possible separate offenses, depending on the outcome of a carjacking offense in which (1) neither a serious injury nor a death occurs, where the possible punishment includes a fine, imprisonment of not more than fifteen years, or both; (2) a serious injury occurs where the possible punishment includes a fine, imprisonment of not more than twenty-five years, or both; or (3) a death occurs where the possible punishment includes a fine, imprisonment for any number of years up to life, or both, or a death sentence. In order to convict of either voluntary or involuntary manslaughter the government must prove each of the following beyond a reasonable doubt:

• That the individual charged intentionally took or attempted to take from a person or in the presence of another a motor vehicle;
• That the motor vehicle had been transported in interstate or foreign commerce;
• That the individual did so by means of force and violence or intimidation; and possibly
• That the individual intended to cause death or serious bodily harm or that serious bodily injury or death resulted.

The phrase “presence of another” includes situations where the person may be some distance from their vehicle, even inside a building. Serious bodily injury means bodily injury which involves (A) a substantial risk of death; or (B) extreme physical pain; or (C) protracted and obvious disfigurement; or (D) protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty. Regarding the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm, the United States Supreme Court has held that the element is fulfilled even if the intent is conditional, that is, the defendant intended to do such harm only if the vehicle was not relinquished.