Chase Leads to Arrest of Two in Northwest Atlanta

Capitol Building

Atlanta, Ga. - According to Georgia State Patrol, two individuals have been arrested as a result of a police chase that occurred in Northwest Atlanta earlier today.

Authorities are still on the lookout for a third suspect who is believed to have escaped arrest. The chase began on Donald Lee Hollowell when officers attempted to pull over the vehicle. The reason for the stop is unknown.

However, the vehicle's driver did not pull the car over and instead led officers on a chase. As an Atlanta DUI Lawyer, I handle cases involving both police chases and charges of DUI in Atlanta more often that one would think. The offense of fleeing or attempting to elude officers is actually quite common as the law is relatively broad and the reality is that people make last minute and rash decisions when they believe that they may be arrested.

I will cover the law below.

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.

Practice Note

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