Atlanta, Ga. - As an Atlanta DUI Lawyer, I have been writing about a lot of instances of police chases within the City of Atlanta. According to the most recent reports, a high speed police chase resulted in the arrest of the driver for trafficking cocaine and heroin.
Officers reported that the chase began Tuesday afternoon when officers made an attempt to pull over a driver for following too closely on Interstate 20. The driver then allegedly sped away onto Interstate 285. The police chase ended at Cascade Road when a Georgia State Trooper did a PIT maneuver. This led to a search of the vehicle where officers discovered two ounces of heroin along with two ounces of cocaine. The man remains in Fulton County Jail and has been denied bond.
In today's post, I will focus on the offense of fleeing or attempting to elude police as it is related to DUI in Atlanta.
Fleeing or Attempting to Elude
O.C.G.A. § 40-6-395 of the Georgia Code defines the offense of fleeing or attempting to elude 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.
A first time offense of fleeing or attempting to elude is classified as a high and aggravated misdemeanor in the state of Georgia. This means that if a person is convicted of fleeing or attempting to elude, he or she is facing up to 12 months of jail time as well as fines up to $5,000.
However, there are circumstances that can exacerbate the penalties associated with a charge of fleeing or attempting to elude. These circumstances include when a driver flees and:
(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.
If a driver flees under any one of the above-mentioned circumstances, then a person is facing a felony charge of fleeing or attempting to elude.
Practice Note
Call an Atlanta DUI Attorney now if you have been cited or arrested for a DUI or a DUI-related offense. Hiring knowledgeable and experienced representation is of the utmost importance to the future of your case. Call us now.
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