High Speed Chase in Atlanta Results in Death and Serious Injuries

Kahre Williams has been arrested after allegedly causing an accident in downtown Atlanta. The accident resulted in one person's death as well as the injuries of several others.

Williams has been charged with:

• Vehicular Homicide in Georgia
• Serious Injury by Vehicle in Georgia
• Reckless Driving in Georgia
• Fleeing in Georgia

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will outline the offense of fleeing the police in today's post.

Fleeing or Attempting to Elude in Georgia

Fleeing or Attempting to Elude in Georgia is defined in O.C.G.A. §40-6-395 of the Georgia Code. There are two versions of the crime of fleeing - one that is classified as a high and aggravated misdemeanor in Georgia and one that is classified as a felony.

The misdemeanor version of fleeing is defined 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 and upon conviction shall be fined not less than $500.00 nor more than $5,000.00, which fine shall not be subject to suspension, stay, or probation and imprisoned for not less than ten days nor more than 12 months.

The felony version of fleeing is defined as:

Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section who, while fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle or police officer in an attempt to escape arrest for any offense, other than a violation of this chapter not expressly provided for in this paragraph:

(i) Operates his or her vehicle in excess of 20 miles an hour above the posted speed limit;

(ii) Strikes or collides with another vehicle or a pedestrian;

(iii) Flees in traffic conditions which place the general public at risk of receiving serious injuries;

(iv) Commits a violation of paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-391; or

(v) Leaves the state… shall be guilty of a felony punishable by a fine of $5,000.00 or imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than five years or both.

Even a first time offense of fleeing or attempting to elude in Georgia is considered a high and aggravated misdemeanor which means there are significant punishments associated with the offense including a minimum of ten days in jail.  

Practice Note

Many times people who are charged with fleeing and eluding have a reasonable explanation as to why they attempted to flee - however, there are situations above that make the offense much more serious. But sometimes it is simply just a one time lapse in judgement.

If you or a loved one has been arrested for a serious traffic violation, such as DUI in Georgia, contact our offices today.