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Levitt & Levitt | Because Experience Counts
Serving Tennessee and Northern Georgia
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Understanding DUI vehicular assault and homicide charges

On Behalf of | Mar 23, 2016 | Drunk Driving

Most people in Tennessee know that a drunk driving conviction may result in a variety of penalties including jail time, loss of driving privileges and fines. However, there are some charges that can result in DUI cases in which other people are injured or die. If you have been involved in such an incident, you will want to have a good understanding about these charges.

According to the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, you could be charged with vehicular assault or vehicular homicide related to a drunk driving offense. A vehicular assault charge is considered a class D felony in Tennessee. It pertains to accidents allegedly caused by an impaired driver in which at least one person sustains injuries deemed to be serious. A vehicular homicide charge is considered a class B felony in Tennessee. These charges also pertain to accidents for which an alleged drunk driver is responsible. Where it differs from vehicular assault is that death of another person results instead of injury.

Drivers in Tennessee may also find themselves accused of aggravated vehicular assault, a class A felony. One of the situations in which you could be charged with this is when you have been convicted of a vehicular homicide charge and then are later arrested for another DUI incident. A previous drunk driving conviction along with a previous vehicular assault conviction together can also lead to a new DUI incident being treated as aggravated vehicular assault.

To learn more about how drunk driving charges are handled in Tennessee, please visit the impaired driving charges page of our DUI defense website.

 

 

State Bar of Georgia
TBA | Tennessee Bar Association
CBA | Chattanooga Bar Association

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