Driver Arrested for Hitting Atlanta Officer

Atlanta Municipal Court

Atlanta, Ga. – According to officers with the Atlanta Police Department, a man has been arrested in DeKalb County after allegedly hitting an APD Officer on I-20 East near the Flat Shoals Road exit.

The driver has been accused of striking the officer with his car and then leaving the scene of the accident. The officer was taken to a local hospital and is fortunately on the mend. The officer was able to radio out a description of the vehicle that hit him, and the driver was arrested some hours later.

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will focus today's post on the law behind the offense of serious injury by vehicle in the state of Georgia. Although, the man has been arrested on charges of felony hit and run – he may also face other charges if it is determined that he was recklessly driving or DUI in Georgia.

Serious Injury by Vehicle in Georgia

Serious Injury by Vehicle in Georgia is defined in the Georgia Code in O.C.G.A. §40-6-394 as:

Whoever, without malice, shall cause bodily harm to another by depriving him of a member of his body, by rendering a member of his body useless, by seriously disfiguring his body or a member thereof, or by causing organic brain damage which renders the body or any member thereof useless through the violation of Code Section 40-6-390 or 40-6-391 shall be guilty of the crime of serious injury by vehicle. A person convicted under this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than 15 years.

This law does not define what constitutes a serious injury, so in these situations, we have to look to other sources within the Georgia Code. Other Georgia laws define it as a “fractured bone, severe burns, disfigurement, dismemberment, partial or total loss of sight or hearing, or loss of consciousness.”  To be considered serious, the injury does not need to be permanent. Instead, a serious, temporary injury is sufficient and only needs to impair or injure a person's appearance. 

In the past, injuries such as loss of vision in one eye, blurry vision, a two-inch scar on the forehead, broken ribs, and severe bruising have qualified as “serious.”  Whether an injury is serious is a question of fact to be determined by the jury.

Serious injury by vehicle is classified as a felony offense. The penalty if convicted of serious injury by vehicle can include up to 15 years in prison.

Practice Note

Call our offices today if you have been accused of any serious traffic offense. We can help you now.