Evading Police Officer Causing Injury or Death
What counts as a violation of Vehicle Code § 2800.3?
Vehicle Code § 2800.3 makes it a crime to seriously injure any person while fleeing or attempting to flee from a pursuing police officer after the officer has commanded the person to stop and the person has failed to stop under Vehicle Code § 2800.1.
What is the punishment for a violation of Vehicle Code § 2800.3 causing serious bodily injury?
Whenever willful flight or attempt to elude a pursuing peace officer in violation of Section 2800.1 proximately causes serious bodily injury to any person, the person driving the pursued vehicle, upon conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or seven years, by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
What is the punishment for a violation of Vehicle Code § 2800.3 causing death?
Whenever willful flight or attempt to elude a pursuing peace officer in violation of Section 2800.1 proximately causes death to a person, the person driving the pursued vehicle, upon conviction, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of 4, 6, or 10 years.
Additionally, the statute allows for the imposition of a greater sentence pursuant to Penal Code § 190 or any other provisions of law applicable to punishment for an unlawful death.
What defenses are available for a violation of Vehicle Code § 20?
- You did not violate Vehicle Code § 2800.1
- You didn't intend to evade an officer
- Your driving wasn't the proximate cause of a death or injury
- The injury was not “serious”
