North Georgia Accident Caused by Suspected DUI

According to reports out of North Georgia, a head-on collision has resulted in three serious injuries and one arrest. Police reported that they were called to the scene in Hall County after a two-car accident that took place in Gainesville.

Riane Rider has been accused of driving under the influence when she allegedly crossed into oncoming traffic during rush hour yesterday evening. The accident resulted in three people being taken to the Northeast Georgia Medical Center with serious injuries.

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I handle situations such as these very frequently. Typically when someone is arrested, most people jump to the conclusion that that individual must be guilty. However, the basis of our criminal justice system is that every person accused of a crime is given the presumption of innocence.
Even if an incident involves serious injury by vehicle in Georgia or even vehicular homicide in Georgia, it does not mean that the accused driver in the situation is necessarily responsible.

In today's post, I will outline the correlation between an accident and DUI in Georgia.

Accidents and DUI Arrests in Georgia

If a driver is involved in a car accident, the accident itself can be used to support a DUI charge by showing that the accused driver was less safe to drive depending on the circumstances of the accident. 

The reality is that when an officer is called to the scene of an accident and sees a driver in distress, the officer has legal cause to approach the vehicle and investigate and offer assistance. The officer's primary duty is to aid all distressed drivers.  However while aiding those drivers, the officer can also investigate the cause of the accident. This can obviously lead to a DUI investigation in his search to determine what caused the wreck.

Any traffic violation can be used by the prosecution to show that the driver was less safe to drive and therefore support an accusation of DUI in Georgia. However, when an accident is involved, the accused driver is looking at more serious offenses such as:

• Hit and Run in Georgia
• Following too Closely in Georgia
• Failure to Maintain Lane in Georgia, etc.

These types of traffic violations lead to higher Georgia DUI Penalties.

Practice Note

If you or a loved one has been involved in an accident and was arrested for being the cause of that accident, contact a Georgia DUI Attorney now. We can help you with your case and determine which defenses may apply to your circumstances.

Regardless of whether or not your case involves an accident, you may not be guilty of the offenses that you have been accused of committing.