Wednesday, March 24, 2004
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Wednesday, March 24, 2004 |
| Law change would upgrade fleeing from cops to felony charge By JOHN MUNFORD An innocent Peachtree City driver’s death in a crash at the end of a police chase may have helped the Georgia Senate pass a bill this month that upgrades the offense of fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer to a felony under special circumstances. Currently, the charge is a misdemeanor unless the suspect is fleeing to escape arrest for a felony, officials said. If the charges on the motorist were misdemeanor in nature, the charge of fleeing and attempting to elude is also a misdemeanor. In the amendment to current law filed by State Sen. Mitch Seabaugh, fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer will be a felony regardless of whether the person is wanted for felony or misdemeanor charges. The amendment also adds language for fleeing and attempting to elude charge to be added if the motorist “operates his or her vehicle in such a manner that a pursuing police officer in a police vehicle must strike or collide with his or her vehicle in order to stop it.” Violators shall be guilty of a felony and face a minimum sentence of one year in jail and a minimum fine of $1,000. Seabaugh, who represents part of west Fayette County in the legislature, tried to get similar legislation passed last year in the wake of a high-speed police chase through Peachtree City that killed local resident Chuck Vicha July 27, 2002. The fleeing motorist in that case, Lorraine McCrary, was driving at a high speed when her SUV struck Vicha’s minivan in front of the Publix shopping strip on the city’s east side. Vicha was pronounced dead at the scene. McCrary, 38, later pled guilty to vehicular homicide in the first degree and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. At the time of the collision, McCrary was being pursued by officers from the Luthersville Police Department. Last year, with Seabaugh’s assistance, the legislature passed a law requiring all police agencies to develop pursuit policies to address how chases will be handled when they enter other jurisdictions. That bill was affectionately referred to as “Chuck’s Law” by Seabaugh when Gov. Sonny Perdue signed the bill at a brief ceremony in June. Chuck’s mother, Alice Vicha, has lobbied for more legislation to help prevent a tragedy such as happened to her son. She wants police officers to receive more training on how to end high-speed chases; at a Senate hearing last year, police representatives said such specialized training is not given to officers before they graduate the basic police academy. The amendment must be passed by the Georgia House before it can be presented for the governor’s signature. The law currently defines the offense of fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer as any motorist who attempts to escape arrest for a felony and: Operates the vehicle in excess of 30 mph over 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 or if the motorist leaves the state.
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