High School Teacher Killed in Douglasville Accident

City of Douglasville

Douglasville, Ga. – According to reports out of Douglasville, a teacher and coach at Osborne High School was killed in a vehicular accident on Georgia 92 earlier today.

He was allegedly riding his Honda motorcycle when a truck with an attached trailer turned in front of him. The Georgia State Patrol is still investigating the accident.

Osborne High School released this statement: “He was a very popular teacher and coach at Osborne who went above and beyond to support students and will be missed deeply by everyone at Osborne who crossed his path.”

The driver of the truck has been charged with failure to yield while turning left and vehicular homicide in the second degree.

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will outline the law behind the offense of vehicular homicide so as to provide some clarity between the two different degrees. Read below.

Vehicular Homicide in Georgia

Georgia Law breaks down vehicular homicide in Georgia into two different degrees in O.C.G.A. §40-6-393.

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

If you have been arrested or cited for serious traffic charges such as vehicular homicide or DUI in Georgia, contact our offices now. We can help you with your case ASAP.