Georgia Teenager Leads Atlanta Police on High Speed Chase

Reports out of Atlanta show that a teenager crashed his vehicle near an Atlanta school after a high speed chase involving police.

17 year old Xavier Brinson has been arrested for allegedly driving over 100 MPH in order to outrun police on I-20. A trooper attempted to pull him over, and Brinson pulled off the highway and eventually lost control.

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will outline the misdemeanor offense of fleeing or attempting to elude. Brinson is facing charges of:

• Hit and Run in Georgia
• Driving without Insurance in Georgia
• Reckless Driving in Georgia
• Speeding in Georgia

In today's post, I will outline the law as well as the penalties if convicted.

Fleeing or Attempting to Elude in Georgia

Georgia Law defines fleeing or attempting to elude in Georgia in O.C.G.A. §40-6-395 as:

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. Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a high and aggravated misdemeanor.

As you can see from the statute - even a first-time offense of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer in Georgia is classified as a high and aggravated misdemeanor in Georgia. This means that if convicted of fleeing or attempting to elude, then the convicted individual is facing up to $5,000 and jail time up to 12 months.

While this crime can be charged on its own, when its paired with reckless driving as in the case above or DUI in Georgia, the penalties increase substantially.

Practice Note

Regardless of the offense, your best defense starts with a Georgia DUI Lawyer. If you or a loved one has been arrested, contact our offices today.