Douglasville Driver Accused of Causing Fatal Wreck

Douglasville, Ga. - Douglas County authorities have arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with a fatal wreck.

According to reports, the man has been accused of using his cellphone while driving.  This violation of the Georgia Hands Free Law allegedly led to the fatal collision. He crossed the center line and drove into oncoming traffic. He crashed head-on with a young mother's vehicle while her toddler was in the back seat.

This incident occurred around three weeks ago. It took up until this week for investigators to determine what they believe occurred. The man is facing charges of:

• Vehicular Homicide in Georgia
• Texting While Driving in Georgia
• Failure to Maintain Lane in Georgia
• And Reckless Driving in Georgia.

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will focus on the law behind the offense of reckless driving. It is an offense we hear a lot about in the news but the law is more extensive than one would think. See below.

Reckless Driving in Georgia

Reckless driving in Georgia is defined by law in O.C.G.A.§40-6-390 as:

(a) Any person who drives any vehicle in reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property commits the offense of reckless driving.

(b) Every person convicted of reckless driving shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 or imprisonment not to exceed 12 months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, provided that no provision of this Code section shall be construed so as to deprive the court imposing the sentence of the power given by law to stay or suspend the execution of such sentence or to place the defendant on probation.

Reckless driving is a serious traffic violation - however, it is, unfortunately, becoming a more common charge. A conviction for reckless driving is 4 points on your driving history. This means that if you are convicted of reckless driving and you are under the age of 21 and convicted of reckless driving, you will lose your license. 

Driving at high speeds, weaving, and other driving that leads to accidents often result in a reckless driving charge.

Practice Note

There are many different examples of reckless driving. It can be subjective and left up to the officer to determine if one's driving has reached the recklessness that has been laid out by the law. Call our offices now if you are facing a traffic arrest. We can help.