Fleeing Suspect Causes Collision on Atlanta Downtown Connector

Police attempted to pull over a driver who had been suspected of causing a string of car thefts in Cobb County. However, when officers tried to do a routine traffic stop, the driver sped off in his vehicle.

Reports say that the suspect caused several different accidents in his attempt to flee. The chase ended in a rear-end collision. The driver jumped out of the car at that point and ran through Georgia Tech's main campus and still on the run from police.

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will outline the traffic offense that the unidentified driver has been accused of committing. However, there are many other offenses that this individual will be accused of in the warrant.

Fleeing or Attempting to Elude in Georgia

Fleeing or attempting to elude the police in Georgia is defined in O.C.G.A. §40-6-395. The statute breaks up several different situations where the act of fleeing can occur, and the specific penalties if found guilty under those circumstances.

By law:

It shall be unlawful for any driver of a vehicle willfully to fail or refuse to bring his or her vehicle to a stop or otherwise to flee or attempt to elude a pursuing police vehicle or police officer when given a visual or an audible signal to bring the vehicle to a stop. The signal given by the police officer may be by hand, voice, emergency light, or siren. The officer giving such signal shall be in uniform prominently displaying his or her badge of office, and his or her vehicle shall be appropriately marked showing it to be an official police vehicle.

Fleeing or attempting to elude is handled very seriously. A first conviction for fleeing or attempting to elude the police in Georgia will be treated as a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature. The fine can be up to $5,000, and the jail term could be up to twelve months. A second conviction in 10 years will elevate the fine to no less than $1,000 nor more than $5,000 and no less than 30 days in jail, up to one year. A third or subsequent conviction within 10 years, the fine will be between $2,500 and $5,000 and the minimum jail time is 90, and the maximum is 12 months. 

However, as I mentioned above, there are circumstances laid out by law where the accused person will be charged with a felony for fleeing or attempting to elude in Georgia, meaning that even the first offense could be considered a felony.

These circumstances include fleeing or attempting to elude while:

• Operating a vehicle 20 MPH above the posted speed limit
• Striking or colliding with another vehicle or a pedestrian;
• Fleeing in traffic conditions, which place the general public at risk of receiving serious injuries; or
• Leaving the state of Georgia.

Under these circumstances, the crime will be categorized as a felony with a punishment of a fine up to $5,000, a prison term between one and five years, or both. 

Practice Note

As a firm we specialize in Georgia DUI Defense. This means that we usually handle complicated cases involving many different charges. With most cases involving DUI in Georgia, there are accompanying charges. We can help with all of it. Call us today.