Chattanooga Felony DUI Lawyer

Vehicular Assault

One type of felony DUI is vehicular assault, which is a Class D felony. TN Code § 39-13-106 (2015) defines vehicular assault as an incident when someone recklessly causes serious bodily injury to another person through the operation of a motor vehicle. This recklessness could be due to intoxication by alcohol or drugs, or both. 

The penalties for vehicular assault include:

• 2-12 years in jail; 
• license revocation for 1-5 years (depending on the number of priors); 
• fines; and 
• court costs.

If the defendant has 1 prior conviction for an alcohol-related offense, they will face a 45-day mandatory minimum sentence in jail (increased from the standard 48 hours for a first offense). Those with 2 priors will face a mandatory minimum of 120 days, and those with 3 priors will face a mandatory minimum of 150 days.

Note that the defendant will be charged with aggravated vehicular assault if they have 2 prior DUI-related convictions or 1 prior DUI conviction (within 20 years) that involved a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .20% or more.

Vehicular Homicide

Another type of felony DUI is vehicular homicide, which involves the reckless killing of another person by the operation of a motor vehicle while the driver:

• creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to a person (Class C felony);
• is intoxicated by alcohol or drugs or both (Class B felony);
• is engaging in prohibited drag racing (Class C felony); or
• drove into a posted construction zone where the person killed was an employee of the department of transportation or a highway construction worker (Class D felony).

As with vehicular assault, the penalties for vehicular homicide will depend on the number of prior convictions the defendant has. If they have 1 prior conviction for an alcohol-related offense, they will face a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 45 days, increased from the standard 48 hours. If they have 2 priors for an alcohol-related offense, the mandatory minimum will rise to 120 days. Lastly, if the defendant has 3 or more priors, they will incur a mandatory minimum of 150 days.

In addition to jail time, the court may also prohibit a defendant from driving in Tennessee for 3-10 years.

Note that an offense will be charged as aggravated vehicular homicide by intoxication if the defendant has 2 prior convictions within 20 years or 1 prior DUI conviction that involved a BAC of .20 or more.