The Dangers of Fleeing the Police Exemplified in Recent Story Ending in Young Woman’s Death

Jazmin Jeanty recently lost her life as a result of a friend's alleged attempt to flee from the police when they attempted to pull the vehicle over.

Jeanty, a 25-year-old woman from Riverdale, was ejected from the vehicle when the chase ended in a horrific crash on I-85. The driver has been reported to be Jaron Hester whose girlfriend was also in the car.

According to reports, Jeanty called her mother when Atlanta police attempted to pull Hester's car over resulting in his acceleration of his car. Jeanty's mother said she could hear her daughter begging Hester to stop the car. Unfortunately, Hester did not stop the car and attempted to lose the police going southbound along the Downtown Connector.

Situations involving fleeing the police typically have horrible endings. This is probably the worst case reported this summer as it resulted in the death of a young woman. As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will focus on the offense in today's post.

Fleeing an Officer in Georgia

Georgia Law defines fleeing or attempting to elude an officer in Georgia in O.C.G.A. §40-6-395(a) 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.

Unfortunately, this has become a very common offense in our state. Most drivers do not want to submit to a possible investigation, citation, or arrest. This results in rushed decisions to attempt to outrun police, which the majority of the time does not result in the consequences of the story reported above but has some serious consequences nonetheless.

Fleeing or attempting to elude is usually classified as a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature in Georgia, but there are situations that can make this offense a felony. One of these such situations is fleeing in traffic conditions that place the general public at risk of receiving serious injuries. Another is striking or colliding with another vehicle or pedestrian. 

Practice Note

As a Georgia DUI Attorney, I, unfortunately, hear about tragic cases such as the one above much too often. The driver will most likely also be facing a charge of vehicular homicide in Georgia as well.

If you or a loved one has been charged with a serious traffic violation in Georgia, contact our offices today.