Athens Officer Dragged by Suspected DUI Driver

Athens, Ga. - Reports from Sunday depict a shocking story regarding an Athens police officer who was dragged alongside a vehicle.

Athens-Clarke County Judicial Center

The officer saw a driver driving recklessly down Preserve Drive. She then saw the vehicle crash into another car. One of the vehicles was smoking which led to the officer running over to the scene on foot to help. The alleged reckless driver drove away from the scene while the officer was attempting to get him out of the vehicle. This resulted in the officer being dragged with the vehicle for a distance.

The driver is facing the following charges:

• DUI in Georgia
• Failure to Maintain Lane in Georgia
• Hit and Run in Georgia
• Fleeing or Attempting to Elude in Georgia

He is now being held in the Clarke County Jail.

The focus of today's post will be on the correlation between accidents and DUI in Georgia.

Georgia DUI Accidents

Accidents and DUIs commonly are charged together. If a car accident occurs alongside a DUI arrest, then the accident can actually be used to support the DUI charge. The accident itself may in fact demonstrate that the accused driver was less safe to drive.

Georgia DUI Penalties are serious. However, when an accident is involved, the penalties are further exacerbated with the addition of more charges. This is especially true if there are injuries property damage. The risk of additional charges is almost certain. The charges can include:

• Serious Injury by Vehicle in Georgia
• Vehicular Homicide in Georgia
• Following Too Closely in Georgia

Any and all of these charges will also provide the State with proof of less safe driving. This proof will be used against the driver in his or her DUI case.

Practice Note

Georgia DUI Accidents are very serious and should never be handled without the help of an experienced Georgia DUI Attorney. Call our offices now.