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In Georgia, motorists who cause serious injury while driving under the influence are prosecuted with a special offense known as serious injury by vehicle. Serious injury, as defined by Georgia law, means causing bodily harm to another while driving under the influence resulting in depriving another person of their body, rendering another person’s body useless, including paralysis, causing serious disfigurement, or causing serious brain damage. The penalty for serious injury by vehicle is a term of imprisonment of not less than one year and a maximum of fifteen years in state prison.
The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reports that a DUI suspect who allegedly hit and injured an Atlanta officer was released on bond.
30-year-old Dara Rappe was released from the Fulton County Jail on bond last Monday, records indicate.
Rappe is facing charges of two felony counts of serious injury by vehicle and misdemeanor counts of DUI, reckless driving, following too closely, and driving too fast for conditions.
The charges stem from an accident that occurred at about 1:45 a.m. on April 28th at the intersection of Northside Drive and Woodward Way.
According to police, Rappe was allegedly under the influence when she rear-ended an SUV being driven by 40-year-old Atlanta Police officer William Goss. At the time of the crash, Goss was conducting an off-duty neighborhood patrol. He suffered from two broken legs and a broken arm in the crash. According to family members, Goss will need several months of rehabilitation.
Rappe has two prior DUI charges, both of which involved crashes. She was arrested in Doraville in September 2013 and in Gwinnett County in 2014. As a part of her probation, Rappe completed an alcohol awareness course in 2017.
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