Evade an Officer and Cause Injury or Death

California Vehicle Code 2800.3 VC describes the crime of “evasion of a law enforcement officer causing injury or death.” This crime is charged when:

• When a person, while attempting to evade an officer, causes injuries or death. The charges are based on the injury or injuries; thus this crime is a wobbler, that is, a crime which can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.
  
  

Penalties

• If charged as a MISDEMEANOR, VC 2800.3 causing harm may lead to a maximum of 1 year in the county jail.
  
  
• But if charged as a FELONY for evading an officer causing injuries, this leads to state prison in California with a sentence of 3, 5, or 7 years. And evading an officer causing death is always a felony under California law. It carries a state prison sentence of 4, 6 or 10 years.
  
  

In addition to prison time, you may have to pay a possible fine of at least two thousand dollars ($2,000) and not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000); depending on how the charges were classified (misdemeanor or felony).