Fleeing or attempting to elude police

PITTSBURGH FLEEING-AND-ELUDING DEFENSE ATTORNEY

HOW IS FLEEING AND ELUDING DEFINED IN PENNSYLVANIA?
Section 3733 of the Vehicle Code provides when a motorist “willfully fails or refuses” to stop their vehicle, or “otherwise flees or attempts to elude a pursuing police officer,” when given a visual and audible signal to stop, that motorist commits the crime of fleeing and eluding.

HOW SERIOUS IS FLEEING AND ELUDING ?
Generally, the crime of fleeing and eluding is a second-degree misdemeanor, but it is graded as a third-degree felony when any one of these circumstances is present:

• The motorist is DUI at the time of the offense
• The motorist crosses a state line
• The motorist endangers a law enforcement officer or member of the general public due to engaging in a high-speed chase.