When Evading An Officer Causes Injury Or Death

Evading a police officer which causes serious bodily injury or death to another person is prosecuted under vehicle code 2800.3 and has very serious penalties.

In fact:

If your actions cause serious bodily injury to another person and you are convicted of the offense, you will be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three, five, or seven years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year¹.

If your actions cause death to another person and you are convicted of the offense, you will be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a term of 4, 6, or 10 years².

What Is The Definition Of Evading An Officer Causing Injury Or Death?

California Vehicle Code §2800.3 defines the offense as “…willful flight or attempt to elude a pursuing peace officer in violation of Section 2800.1 [that] proximately causes serious bodily injury to any person…”³

Example Of Evading An Officer Causing Injury

A driver who was speeding away from a pursuing police car made a wrong turn into a one-way street and collided with the oncoming traffic.

The collision caused serious bodily injuries to several passengers.

What Happens In This Scenario?

The driver will be charged with Vehicle Code section 2008.3, because as a result of trying to evade an officer, he caused serious bodily injuries to several other people.

If the collision causes death to another person, the driver could also be charged with Vehicular Manslaughter under Penal Code §192(c)(1).

Can You Be Charged With Murder If Someone Dies?

A defendant who violates Vehicle Code section 2800.1 and as a result, causes death to another, cannot be charged with “felony murder,” because Vehicle Code section 2800.3 is not considered to be an “inherently dangerous” felony and as such does not support a felony-murder conviction.⁴

How Does The Prosecutor Prove Guilt?

To prove that you are guilty of vehicle code 2800.3 vc, the prosecutor has to prove the following facts or elements⁵.

• A peace officer in a motor vehicle was pursuing the defendant, who was also driving a vehicle⁶;
• The defendant intended to evade the peace officer;
• While driving, the defendant “willfully” fled from, or tried to elude, the pursuing peace officer⁷;
• The defendant’s attempt to flee from, or elude, the pursuing peace officer caused⁸ the death of or serious bodily injury to someone⁹

and all of the following were true:

• There was at least one lighted red lamp visible from the front of the peace officer’s vehicle;
• The defendant either saw or reasonably should have seen the lamp;
• The peace officer’s vehicle was sounding a siren as reasonably necessary;
• The peace officer’s vehicle was distinctively marked¹⁰; AND
• The peace officer was wearing a distinctive uniform¹¹

What Are The Legal Defenses For Violating Vehicle Code 2800.3?

A violation of vehicle code 2800.3 is a specific intent crime which mean that the defendant had to specifically intend to evade the officer.

Lack Of Intend To Evade Is A Defense

Examples include:

• You were faced with an emergency
• You were speeding on the freeway and saw a police car behind you in the distance, but were unaware that it was pursuing you
• You were so intoxicated while driving that you did not realize that a police officer was attempting to pull you over.

In the above scenario a defendant will likely be charged with violating vehicle code 2315(a) VC and if the officer determined that the defendants BAC was .o8 or more than he would also be charged with vehicle code 23152(b) vc.

What Are The Penalties For VC 2800.3?

A violation of vehicle code 2800.3 vc can be charged as either a felony or misdemeanor, depending on the facts of the case.

If you caused death to another person while evading a police officer, the offense will always be charged as a felony.

However, if caused serious bodily injury, it may be charged either as a felony or misdemeanor.

PENALTIES	SERIOUS BODILY INJURY	DEATH
Fine	$2,000-$10,000 in fines	$2,000 – $10,000
Probation	Misdemeanor = Summary Probation: Felony = Formal Probation	Formal Probation
Jail or Prison	Misdemeanor = Up to 1 year in Jail: Felony = 3,5 or 7 years in state prison	4, 6, or 10 years in prison

Conviction Affects The Following Rights

Your Right to Operate Commercial Vehicles:

Pursuant to California Vehicle Code §15300, a driver shall not operate a commercial motor vehicle for a period of one year if the driver is convicted of a first violation of veicl code 2800.3:¹².

A second violation of Vc 2800.3 will result in a loss of the ability of driving a commercial vehicle for life.

Your 2nd amendment rights

A conviction of Evading an Officer Causing Injury or Death charged as a felony, will result in you being prohibited to “…own, possess, acquire, or receive…” firearms for life pursuant to Penal Code §29800 – that sets out California’s law concerning “felons with a firearm.

Aggravating Factors

Below are additional charges or factors in your case which could increase the penalty.

Resisting Arrest

If you resisted arrest after the officer caught up to your vehicle than you can be charged with  Penal Code section 148.

Vehicular Manslaughter

Pursuant to Penal Code 192(c), if you were driving while you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you could also be charged with Vehicular Manslaughter.  Similarly, Penal Code section 191.5 punishes a defendant who acts negligently, and does not require that the defendant be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Example

Defendant was being pursued by the police while driving under the influence of drugs.  As a result of being really high, defendant collided with another vehicle, causing the other driver to suffer instant death.

Unlawful Driving Or Taking Of A Vehicle

Fleeing from the police in a stolen car could cause you to be charged with a violation of VC 10851.

1. California Vehicle Code 2800.3(a) – 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. [↩]
2. Vehicle Code 2800.3(b) – 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. [↩]
3. Vehicle. Code, § 2800.3(a) – 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. (b) 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. (c) Nothing in this section shall preclude the imposition of a greater sentence pursuant to Section 190 of the Penal Code or any other provisions of law applicable to punishment for an unlawful death.(d) For the purposes of this section, “serious bodily injury” has the same meaning as defined in paragraph (4) of subdivision (f) of Section 243 of the Penal Code. [↩]
4. People v. Jones (2000) 82 Cal.App.4th 663, 668–669 [98 Cal.Rptr.2d 724]; People v. Sanchez (2001) 86 Cal.App.4th 970, 974 [103 Cal.Rptr.2d 809]. [↩]
5. Elements. Veh. Code, §§ 2800.1(a), 2800.3(a), (b)., available at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH&sectionNum=2800.3 [↩]
6. A “peace officer” is anyone who is engaged in the duty of law enforcement, including but not limited to the following persons: CHP officer (California Highway Patrol), police officer, sheriff, marshal or deputy marshal of a superior court or county, port warden or port police officer, any inspector or investigator employed in such capacity in the office of a district attorney.  Pen. Code, § 830 et seq. [↩]
7. Willfully Defined Penal Code 7(1) – Someone commits an act willfully when he or she does it willingly or on purpose.  It is not required that he or she intend to break the law, hurt someone else, or gain any advantage. [↩]
8. An act causes death or serious bodily injury if the death or injury is the direct, natural, and probable consequence of the act and the death or injury would not have happened without the act.  A natural and probable consequence is one that a reasonable person would know is likely to happen if nothing unusual intervenes.  In deciding whether a consequence is natural and probable, a court will consider all the circumstances established by the evidence.  There may be more than one cause of death or serious bodily injury.  An act causes death or injury only if it is a substantial factor in causing the death or injury.  A substantial factor is more than a trivial or remote factor.  However, it need not be the only factor that causes the death or injury. CALCRIM 2180 [↩]
9. A serious bodily injury means a serious impairment of physical condition.  Such an injury may include loss of consciousness, concussion, bone fracture, protracted loss or impairment of function of any bodily member or organ, a wound requiring extensive suturing and serious disfigurement.  Serious Bodily Injury Defined. Pen. Code, § 243(f)(4); People v. Taylor (2004) 118 Cal.App.4th 11, 25, fn. 4 [12 Cal.Rptr.3d 693]. [↩]
10. A vehicle is distinctively marked if it has features that are reasonably noticeable to other drivers, including a red lamp, siren, and at least one other feature that makes it look different from vehicles that are not used for law enforcement purposes.  Distinctively Marked Vehicle. People v. Hudson (2006) 38 Cal.4th 1002, 1010–1011 [44 Cal.Rptr.3d 632, 136 P.3d 168]. [↩]
11. A “distinctive uniform” means clothing adopted by a law enforcement agency to identify or distinguish members of its force. The uniform does not have to be complete or of any particular level of formality. However, a badge, without more, is not enough.  Distinctive Uniform. People v. Estrella (1995) 31 Cal.App.4th 716, 724 [37 Cal.Rptr.2d 383]; People v. Mathews (1998) 64 Cal.App.4th 485, 491 [75 Cal.Rptr.2d 289]. [↩]
12. Vehicle Code 15300(a)– A driver shall not operate a commercial motor vehicle for a period of one year if the driver is convicted of a first violation of any of the following: (10) A violation of Section 2800.1, 2800.2, or 2800.3 that involves a commercial motor vehicle. [↩]