Fatal DUI Accident Reported in Clarkesville

Habersham County Courthouse

Clarkesville, Ga. – Troopers with the Georgia State Patrol reported an arrest that occurred after a fatal accident in Clarkesville in Habersham County.

The accident occurred allegedly as a result of a DUI driver who had his five-year-old son in his vehicle. The driver crossed the center line and collided with another vehicle head-on. This resulted in the death of his son and the serious injury of the other driver.

As a Georgia DUI Lawyer, I will outline the law behind vehicular homicide in the state of Georgia.

DUI and Vehicular Homicide

O.C.G.A. §40-6-393 outlines the degrees of homicide by vehicle. A person will be charged with homicide by vehicle in the first degree when, without malice aforethought, a death is caused by the person either unlawfully passing a school bus, reckless driving, fleeing or attempting to elude a police office, or leaving the scene of the accident. 

Homicide by vehicle in the second degree occurs when death results due to a violation of any other statute other than the ones specified for homicide in the first degree. 

A misdemeanor-grade vehicular homicide happens when a death is the result of a violation of basic traffic laws. Conviction of a misdemeanor vehicular homicide charge may warrant a sentence from a Georgia judge up to one year. An example of how this can happen is a death as a result of a speeding violation, failure to maintain lane, or following too closely.  If someone is unfortunately killed as a result of regular traffic offenses, they can be charged with misdemeanor vehicular homicide.

A felony-grade vehicular homicide charge occurs when a death is the result of DUI or reckless driving. Convictions of felony-grade vehicular homicide may warrant up to 15 years in prison. The prosecution in Georgia is the Office of the Solicitor-General, who generally prosecutes misdemeanor charges in State Court, and the Office of the District Attorney, who generally prosecutes felony charges in Superior Court.

Practice Note

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