An accident just north of Atlanta resulted in the serious injuries of one driver and two other passengers.

According to reports, police were called to the scene of a two-car accident that took place early yesterday evening. One of the drivers was arrested for driving under the influence.

That driver was accused of driving an SUV into oncoming traffic and causing the wreck.

As an Atlanta DUI Lawyer, although this accident occurred outside of the city limits, the law still applies the same, and in today's post, I will outline the offense of serious injury by vehicle so as to provide a clearer outlook on the criminal offenses that this driver will be accused of committing based on the facts above.

Serious Injury by Vehicle in Atlanta

Georgia Law defines serious injury by vehicle in O.C.G.A. §40-6-394 as:

Whoever, without malice, shall cause bodily harm to another by depriving him of a member of his body, by rendering a member of his body useless, by seriously disfiguring his body or a member thereof, or by causing organic brain damage which renders the body or any member thereof useless through the violation of Code Section 40-6-390 or 40-6-391 shall be guilty of the crime of serious injury by vehicle. A person convicted under this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year nor more than 15 years.

Atlanta DUI and Serious Injury by Vehicle are offenses often seen together. This is because more often than not, if someone is suspected of driving under the influence, then more offenses are charged because the officers believe they must be responsible if they are allegedly under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Practice Note

However, this is not always the case. Wrongful arrests and improper accusations happen more often than anyone would like to admit. Just because someone has been accused of committing a crime such as DUI in Atlanta does not mean that he or she is guilty of committing that offense.

Regarding DUI-related crimes such as serious injury by vehicle, if the accused driver is not guilty of DUI or reckless driving, then he or she is also not guilty of causing the alleged injury.

This is why it is so important to hire an Atlanta DUI Attorney if you or a loved one has been arrested for DUI in Atlanta or any other related crime. We focus solely on DUI Defense, but that means that we cover a lot more offenses than one would typically think. Anything from traffic violations to drug possession charges, we're the experts. Call us today.