Four Students Injured When Vehicle Crashes into Dekalb County School Bus

According to reports in DeKalb County, a school bus was hit this morning injuring four of the nine students who were on board. As of right now, the condition of the four injured students as well as any reports about charges are unknown.

As a Georgia DUI Attorney, I will outline what might be a possible charge in today's post.

Unlawful Passing of a School Bus in Georgia

A charge for the unlawful passing of a school bus in Georgia is one of the most serious traffic violations that a driver can commit in Georgia. There is a very serious public policy behind this being such a serious offense. The reason is that young children are placed in serious risk of being injured or killed.

By law, the unlawful passing of a school bus is defined by in the Georgia Code in O.C.G.A. §40-6-163 as:

The driver of a vehicle meeting or overtaking from either direction any school bus stopped on the highway shall stop before reaching such school bus when there are in operation on the school bus the visual signals, and such driver shall not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or the visual signals are no longer actuated.

If convicted of unlawfully passing a school bus, then the penalty is a misdemeanor conviction. This can include up to twelve months in jail and up to $1,000 in fines. The penalties can also include community service, defensive driving school, or any other programs or classes that the judge deems necessary.

Practice Note

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I specialize in not only DUI in Georgia, but also in all traffic violations or charges that are associated with DUI. The unlawful passing of a school bus can lead to a DUI investigation and a subsequent arrest.

I discuss frequently how officers need articulable suspicion in order to pull someone over and detain them for any further investigation. That's why in order to specialize in Georgia DUI Defenses, we also must specialize in other related defense work.

If you or a loved one has been arrested, contact our offices today.