Driver Arrested in Fatal Hit and Run in Decatur

DeKalb County Courthouse

Decatur, Ga. – A driver has been arrested for a deadly hit-and-run that occurred in DeKalb County last week.

According to officers, a man was discovered lying in the street near North Indian Creek Drive. He was rushed to a hospital, but, unfortunately, he died two days later. Witnesses reported that a vehicle hit the man when he was crossing the street. The driver of that vehicle has been accused of hitting the man and then lying to police about the incident. The driver is facing some very serious charges regarding the submission of false statements to police as well as charges of vehicular homicide and failure to yield.

Although all of the charges faced by the driver are very serious, as a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will focus today's post on the offense of vehicular homicide as it is in my wheelhouse and most often seen in cases involving DUI in Georgia.

Vehicular Homicide in Georgia

O.C.G.A. §40-6-393 defines vehicular homicide in Georgia in two different degrees.

First degree vehicular homicide is defined as:

A person will be charged with homicide by vehicle in the first degree when, without malice aforethought, a death is caused by the person either unlawfully passing a school bus, reckless driving, fleeing or attempting to elude a police office, or leaving the scene of the accident. 

Second degree vehicular homicide is defined as:

A person will be charged with homicide by vehicle in the second degree when death results due to a violation of any other statute other than the ones specified for homicide in the first degree. 

Second degree vehicular homicide is also referred to as misdemeanor-grade vehicular homicide. This happens when a death is the result of a violation of basic traffic laws. Conviction of a misdemeanor vehicular homicide charge may warrant a sentence from a Georgia judge up to one year.

First degree vehicular homicide is also referred to as felony-grade vehicular homicide. This type of charge occurs when a death is the result of DUI or reckless driving. Convictions of felony-grade vehicular homicide may warrant up to 15 years in prison.

Practice Note

Just because a driver has been accused of committing a criminal offense such as DUI or vehicular homicide does not mean that he or she is guilty of that offense. If you have been arrested in Georgia, contact our offices today. A Georgia DUI Attorney can help you now.