Street Racing With Bodily Injury Lawyer In Beaumont, TX
An injury turns racing on a highway from a misdemeanor into a felony. The level depends on the injury, not on the driver's record, and this page covers what the state must prove, the penalties, the defenses and how the case moves through Jefferson County.
What Is Street Racing With Bodily Injury In Texas?
Under Transportation Code § 545.420, racing on a highway becomes a felony when someone is hurt as a result of the offense. Bodily injury makes it a third degree felony with 2 to 10 years. Serious bodily injury or death makes it a second degree felony with 2 to 20 years. The state must prove both the race and its link to the injury.
Source: Texas Transportation Code Chapter 545, Operation and Movement of Vehicles
Understanding Texas Law
How Does An Injury Change A Street Racing Charge?
On its own, racing on a highway under Transportation Code § 545.420 is a Class B misdemeanor. The statute then adds two felony levels tied to what happened to another person. Bodily injury as a result of the offense makes it a third degree felony. Serious bodily injury or death makes it a second degree felony.
Those levels do not depend on the driver's history. A person with no prior arrest faces a felony case once an injury is attached to a racing allegation.
The injury is an add-on. The state has to prove the race itself first, meaning a contest, competition, drag race or exhibition on a public road as the statute defines those terms.
Three things the state has to connect:
- The person took part in a race, contest or exhibition on a highway or road
- An individual suffered bodily injury, serious bodily injury, or death
- The injury happened as a result of the racing offense
Penal Code § 6.04 governs that last link. A person is responsible for a result that would not have occurred but for their conduct, alone or together with another cause. The exception applies where the other cause was clearly sufficient by itself and the person's conduct was clearly insufficient.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Street Racing With Bodily Injury In Texas?
From the first day, an injury allegation puts the case on the felony track. These are statutory limits, not predictions for any one case.
Two to ten years, fine to $10,000.
Two to twenty years, fine to $10,000.
Set by § 521.350.
- Bodily injury
- Third degree felony. 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
- Serious bodily injury or death
- Second degree felony. 2 to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000.
- Deadly weapon finding
- Possible when the vehicle was used in a way capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. It restricts community supervision and affects parole timing.
- License
- A racing conviction brings an automatic one year suspension under Transportation Code § 521.350.
- Vehicle
- Impounded under § 545.420 at the owner's expense, or held as evidence in the crash investigation.
A deadly weapon finding on a felony conviction puts the sentence under the rules explained on the 3g offenses page.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Racing With Bodily Injury In Texas?
How small can an injury be and still make the case a felony?
Can a driver be charged when the other car caused the collision?
What if another driver ran a red light?
What if alcohol was involved?
Can the injury level be challenged?
Possible Defenses
How Can Street Racing With Bodily Injury Be Defended?
Each part of the felony has to stand on its own: the race, the cause and the injury. A weakness in one can change the level of the charge or remove it.
An attorney reviews all three. No result can be promised.
Vehicle data can support or contradict the story.
Modern vehicles can store speed, braking and throttle data for the seconds before an impact. That record can support the state's account of a race, or it can contradict it. Reconstruction work, scene photographs, video and witness accounts are tested against the state's version.
Constitutional issues include the stop, any warrantless data download and any statement.
Was There A Race
Was there a contest or exhibition, or two vehicles speeding near each other?
Cause Of The Injury
Did the racing cause the harm, or did another driver's conduct or the road?
Injury Level
Does the medical evidence reach serious bodily injury, or stop at bodily injury?
Participation
Can the state prove each person's part in the race?
Deadly Weapon Allegation
Does the way the vehicle was used support the finding?
Data And Searches
Was vehicle and phone data gathered under a valid warrant or consent?
Local Process
What Happens After A Racing Injury Arrest In Jefferson County?
Once an injury is alleged, the case goes through a grand jury and a district court. The court, prosecutor and jail are specific to Jefferson County.
The Crash Investigation
Reconstruction work, event data from the vehicles, scene measurements and witness accounts are collected to show speed, position and cause.
Proving The Injury
The level charged rests on medical records and testimony describing the injury and how long it lasted.
Indictment
The case is presented to a grand jury, which decides whether to return an indictment.
District Court
After arraignment, discovery and motions, the case ends in a dismissal, a plea or a trial.
- Where it is heard
- Heard in the district courts at the Jefferson County Courthouse on 1085 Pearl Street at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1085 Pearl Street.
- Who prosecutes
- The Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney's Office.
- Who makes the arrest
- Beaumont Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Port Arthur Police Department, Nederland Police Department, Port Neches Police Department, or Groves Police Department.
- Booking
- Arrestees from every law enforcement agency in the county are booked into the county's jail system.
- If the case is appealed
- the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
The racing statute is one of several the crash can support. With alcohol involved, the state can proceed under intoxication assault. A death can be charged as manslaughter, and a non-fatal injury caused by driving is covered on the vehicular assault page. See street racing for the base offense.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After A Racing Injury Charge?
These steps are general information, not advice for any one person. Crash data and video can be lost within days.
Hold Off On A Statement
Ask for a lawyer before answering questions about the crash.
Protect The Vehicle
Do not repair or sell it, because its data may matter.
Keep Your Phone
Do not delete messages, videos or posts.
Write It Down
Record what you remember for your attorney only.
Save The Paperwork
Keep bond, tow and storage papers and every notice.
Do Not Contact The Injured
Stay away from the injured person and from witnesses.
Talk to a lawyer early. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about a racing injury charge in Jefferson County, and the sooner the data is preserved, the more can be tested.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Transportation Code Chapter 545: Racing on a highway, § 545.420
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 1: Definitions of bodily injury and serious bodily injury
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 6: Causation, § 6.04
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: Felony punishment
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 42A: Community supervision
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 39: Discovery of the state's evidence
- Texas Government Code Chapter 508: Parole eligibility
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Beaumont trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Related Traffic Charges
Other Criminal Traffic Charges In Beaumont, TX
A racing crash can be charged under several statutes at once, and the racing enhancement is only one of them. See the full Traffic Violations defense overview for Beaumont.
Evading Arrest
Running from an officer on foot is a misdemeanor. Doing it in a vehicle is a felony.
Failure To Stop And Give Information
Leaving a collision that damaged a vehicle without exchanging information. A Class B misdemeanor once damage reaches $200.
Failure To Stop And Render Aid
Leaving a collision where someone was hurt or killed, graded by the worst injury.
Reckless Driving
Driving in wilful or wanton disregard for safety. A criminal charge that can bring an arrest, not a ticket paid by mail.
Street Racing
Racing on a highway under Transportation Code § 545.420. A Class B misdemeanor on its own, and a felony once someone is hurt.
Common Questions
Racing Injury Questions People In Beaumont Ask
What is the penalty for racing that injures someone in Beaumont, TX?
Under Transportation Code § 545.420, racing on a highway is a third degree felony when an individual suffers bodily injury as a result of the offense. That carries 2 to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Serious bodily injury or death makes it a second degree felony, with 2 to 20 years and the same maximum fine.
What separates bodily injury from serious bodily injury in a Jefferson County case?
Penal Code § 1.07 defines bodily injury as physical pain, illness, or any impairment of physical condition. Serious bodily injury is injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or that causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ. That line separates the third degree level from the second.
Can more than one driver be charged after a race crash in Beaumont?
The statute makes it an offense to participate in any manner in a race, and the felony levels apply when an individual is hurt as a result of the offense. It does not limit the charge to the driver whose vehicle made contact. The state must still prove each driver's participation and the link between that conduct and the injury.
Can a car be treated as a deadly weapon in a Beaumont racing case?
Texas law lets a motor vehicle be found a deadly weapon when the way it was used was capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. If the court makes an affirmative deadly weapon finding on a felony, it limits judge-ordered community supervision and delays parole eligibility. The 3g offenses page explains those rules.
What other charges can follow a racing crash in Jefferson County?
The same collision can support manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide if someone died, intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter if alcohol was involved, and failure to stop and render aid if a driver left. Each has separate elements, and the state can file more than one charge from a single event.
Does the injured person have to be another driver in a Beaumont racing case?
The statute refers to an individual who suffers injury as a result of the offense, so it is not limited to other drivers. A passenger, a pedestrian or an unrelated motorist can be the injured person. Who was hurt, how, and whether the racing caused it are all questions the state has to prove.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
Your Freedom Is Our Fight
Vehicle data and scene evidence can be lost quickly after a crash. The sooner it is identified, the more of it can be reviewed.
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