Clarkesville Driver Arrested for DUI Child Endangerment and Vehicular Homicide

Clarkesville, Ga. – Habersham County Deputies arrested a driver after he was accused of driving under the influence, driving on the wrong side of the roadway, and causing an accident that resulted in the death of his five-year-old son.

He allegedly drove his vehicle under the influence with his child in the car. He drove on the wrong side of Georgia Highway 385 and hit another vehicle head-on. It resulted in the death of his child as well as the serious injury of the other driver.

As a Georgia DUI Attorney, I will outline the law behind the offense of DUI Child Endangerment.

DUI Child Endangerment in Georgia

O.C.G.A. §40-6-391 - otherwise known as the DUI Statute in the state of Georgia - also outlines the offense of DUI Child Endangerment in Georgia. The part of the law that focuses on child endangerment is as follows:

A person who violates this Code section while transporting in a motor vehicle a child under the age of 14 years is guilty of the separate offense of endangering a child by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The offense of endangering a child by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs shall not be merged with the offense of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs for the purposes of prosecution and sentencing. An offender who is convicted of a violation of this subsection shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of subsection (d) of Code Section 16-12-1, relating to the offense of contributing to the delinquency, unruliness, or deprivation of a child.

The legal result is that for each child that is in a vehicle where a driver has been charged with driving under the influence, there is a subsequent charge of child endangerment. However, most people are unaware that for each DUI child endangerment charge, it legally counts as another DUI charge.

For example, Subject A is driving a vehicle with three children in the backseat. All three children are under the age of fourteen. Officers claim that Subject A violates a minor traffic law such as failure to maintain lane in Georgia. Subject A is then pulled over and subsequently investigated for DUI. After the investigation is over, Subject A is arrested for driving under the influence and three separated charges of DUI Child Endangerment. This means that Subject A is now facing four different DUI charges - all resulting from the same incident.

Practice Note

If you have been arrested, call our offices now. Charges such as DUI in Georgia are handled very seriously and the consequences of a DUI conviction are life-changing. Call us now.