Willfully attempting to evade a peace officer in pursuit is a criminal offense in California in and of itself (Vehicle Code 2800.1 VC). However, if someone is seriously injured or killed as a direct and natural result of your actions, the charges become much more serious.
Under California Vehicle Code 2800.3 VC, if you're accused of evading a peace officer, resulting in serious bodily injury or death, you could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
The legal definition of evading an officer causing death or injury involves the elements of the crime. This means you evaded a peace officer while driving a motor vehicle, and by evading an officer, you caused the serious bodily injury or death of another person. These elements are the key facts that the prosecution must prove to be guilty under VC 2800.3.
The legal definition of evading an officer is codified in California Vehicle Code 2800.1 VC, the misdemeanor evading an officer law.
To convict, a peace officer in a motor vehicle must have been pursuing you, and you must have willfully fled from or tried to flee from them in a motor vehicle, specifically intending to evade them.
Further, the officer and their vehicle must have been distinctively marked. This means that there was at least one lighted red lamp visible from the front of the officer's vehicle, and you either saw or reasonably should have seen the lamp.
Also, the officer's vehicle was sounding a siren as reasonably necessary, their vehicle was distinctively marked, and the officer was wearing a distinctive uniform, which does not have to be a full law enforcement uniform.
Notably, "willfully" means you did so willingly or on purpose. This means that you intentionally fled from the officer, knowing that they were trying to stop you. You do not need to have intended to hurt someone else or gain any advantage.
What Does the Law Say?
California Vehicle Code 2800.3 VC applies when an individual willfully flees or attempts to evade a pursuing peace officer, and their actions lead to serious bodily injury or death.
The statute builds on Vehicle Code 2800.1 VC, which defines the basic offense of evading a peace officer, by adding additional consequences when fleeing results in injury or fatality.
This law imposes severe penalties due to the potential harm caused by dangerous high-speed chases or reckless attempts to escape law enforcement. It ensures accountability for the risks posed to officers, bystanders, and others involved.
For purposes of this law, "serious bodily injury" includes significant physical impairments such as loss of consciousness, bone fractures, or substantial risk of death. If evasion leads to someone's death, additional penalties apply.
California Vehicle Code 2800.3 VC
The text of VC 2800.3 says the following:
"(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, 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."
What Constitutes Evasion of a Peace Officer?
Under VC 2800.1, evading a peace officer occurs when a person operating a motor vehicle willfully flees or attempts to elude a peace officer in pursuit. To meet the legal definition of evasion under California law, certain criteria must exist:
- The pursuing law enforcement vehicle must be clearly identifiable (i.e., lights, siren as appropriate, with the vehicle marked distinctively)
- A peace officer must be driving the identifiable vehicle
- The peace officer must be wearing a distinctive uniform
What are the Elements of the Crime?
To convict you under Vehicle Code 2800.3 VC, prosecutors must prove several elements beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a high standard of proof, and if the prosecution fails to meet it, you cannot be convicted. The elements they must prove are as follows:
- Pursuing Peace Officer Met Legal Standards: The officer was in uniform, clearly displayed official markings, drove a distinctively marked vehicle, and used all necessary signals like lights or a siren
- Willful Evasion: You willfully fled or attempted to evade the officer in pursuit
- Proximate Cause of Injury or Death: The evasion directly resulted in serious bodily injury or the death of another. Proximate cause is a legal term that means your actions were a substantial factor in causing the injury or death. A reckless or negligent act causing harm during the pursuit satisfies this requirement.
What is Causation?
Notably, you are only guilty of evading a peace officer causing death or injury if the act of evading an officer causes death or serious bodily injury, meaning both of the following must be true:
- The death or injury was the direct, natural, and probable consequence of your actions and
- The death or injury would not have happened if you had not evaded the officer.
A natural and probable consequence is one that a reasonable person would know is likely to happen when all the circumstances are considered.
What is a Serious Bodily Injury?
In the context of Vehicle Code 2800.3 VC, "serious bodily injury" means a serious impairment of physical condition, such as the following:
- Concussions,
- Loss of consciousness,
- Bone fractures,
- Wounds requiring extensive suturing,
- Serious disfigurement,
- Protracted loss or impairment of a body part or function.
Notably, injuries not listed above might still count as serious bodily injuries, depending on the circumstances. Whether an injury is "serious" is a question for the jury to decide.
Penalties for Violating VC 2800.3
The possible penalties for violating VC 2800.3 depend largely on how the crime is charged and the harm the offense results in.
Serious Bodily Injury
Suppose someone suffers serious bodily injury as a result of your actions (e.g., loss of consciousness, TBI, broken bones, disfigurement). In that case, the crime is a "wobbler," meaning it can be charged either as a misdemeanor or a felony.
If charged as a misdemeanor, you could face:
- Fines are between $2000 and $10,000,
- Up to one year in county jail,
- Misdemeanor summary probation.
If charged as a felony, you could face:
- Fines are between $2000 and $10,000,
- Three, five, or seven years in state prison,
- Formal felony probation.
Death
If evading an officer results in someone's death, the crime is always charged as a felony. If convicted, you could face four, six, or 10 years in state prison.
If the judge opts for probation in lieu of prison time, you can also expect your driver's license to be suspended.
Vehicle Impoundment and Driver's License Suspension
If you are convicted of evading an officer, causing injury or death, then the judge will also typically order the following:
- Impound the vehicle for up to 30 days and
- Suspend your driver's license as a condition of probation.
Additionally, suppose you hold a commercial driver's license and commit the crime of Vehicle Code 2800.3, evading an officer and causing injury or death. In that case, your right to operate a commercial vehicle will be suspended for one year.
Your commercial driver's license will be taken away permanently if you accumulate more than one conviction for evading an officer, including misdemeanor evading under VC 2800.1 and reckless evading under VC 2800.2, all of which occurred while you were operating a commercial vehicle.
What are Related Crimes?
- Vehicle Code 2800.1 VC - Misdemeanor reckless evading. This crime is willfully fleeing a police car or bicycle with the intent of evading.
- Vehicle Code 2800.2 VC - Felony reckless evading. This crime is willfully fleeing a police car or bicycle with intent to evade and driving with willful or wanton disregard for people and property.
- Vehicle Code 2800.4 VC - Reckless evading while driving against traffic. The crime is fleeing a police car or bicycle with the intent of evading and driving against traffic.
- Penal Code 192(c) PC- Vehicular manslaughter. You might also face charges under California's vehicular manslaughter law. This crime is defined as committing an unlawful act, such as evading an officer, or a lawful act that may cause death while driving a vehicle, with either negligence or "gross negligence," as a result of which someone is killed.
What are the Common Defenses?
If you're accused of evading a peace officer, and it results in injury or death, defending your case can be complex yet possible. Below are common defenses California criminal defense attorneys may use in response to these charges:
- No Willful Intent: Intent is key to evasion charges. If you were unaware, you were being pursued; for example, your attorney could argue that you were not willfully fleeing or attempting to evade the officer.
- Lack of Knowledge of Police Presence: If law enforcement vehicles or commands were not clearly displayed, or if their siren and lights weren't properly used, you might not have realized you were being pursued or that you were being pursued by someone impersonating an officer.
- Lack of Causation: The injury or death must result directly from the evasion as a natural consequence. If other factors intervened, such as the victim's conduct or third-party negligence, or if death occurred from natural causes not related to the evasion, your attorney may leverage this to get charges reduced to misdemeanor evasion under VC 2800.1.
- Emergencies or Coercion: If you acted under duress or faced an immediate emergency, the court may consider these mitigating factors.
Contact our criminal defense law firm, Eisner Gorin LLP, for a case evaluation.
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