Suspects in High Speed Police Chase in Atlanta Turn Themselves in

Atlanta Municipal Court

Atlanta, Ga. - As an Atlanta DUI Lawyer, I wrote on a tragic high speed police chase that occurred a few weeks ago. The chase occurred through Clayton County and resulted in a fatal accident. The vehicle ultimately hit another vehicle killing a 17-year-old driver on Moreland Avenue.

The chase started when officers attempted to arrest a man who was wanted for an aggravated assault charge. He sped away from officers and led them on for miles. In today's post, I will outline the offense behind a police chase. This law is known as fleeing or attempting to elude police.

Fleeing or Attempting to Elude Police

Fleeing or attempting to elude is defined in O.C.G.A. §40-6-395 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.

The penalties if convicted can include up to $5000 in fines and between ten days and twelve months in jail.

However, as displayed in the story above, there are also situations in which the offense of fleeing or attempting to elude is escalated to a felony offense. These situations include when a driver flees and:

• Operates his or her vehicle in excess of 20 miles an hour above the posted speed limit;
• Strikes or collides with another vehicle or a pedestrian;
• Flees in traffic conditions which place the general public at risk of receiving serious injuries;
• Commits a violation of paragraph (5) of subsection (a) of Code Section 40-6-391; or
• Leaves the State.

If convicted of felony fleeing or attempting to elude, the penalty can include up to five years in prison.

Practice Note

If charged with a serious traffic violation such as fleeing or DUI in Atlanta, call our offices today.