South Carolina Code 56-1-1105. Penalties for driving while license cancelled, suspended, or revoked
(1) "Great bodily injury" means bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 56-1-1105
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
- Plea: In a criminal case, the defendant's statement pleading "guilty" or "not guilty" in answer to the charges, a declaration made in open court.
- Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
(2) "Habitual offender" has the same meaning as in § 56-1-1020.
(B) An habitual offender who drives a motor vehicle on any public highway of this State when the offender’s license to drive has been canceled, suspended, or revoked, and when driving does any act forbidden by law or neglects any duty imposed by law in the driving of the motor vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes great bodily injury or death to a person other than himself, is guilty of a felony, and, upon conviction, guilty plea, or nolo contendere plea must be punished:
(1) by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars and imprisonment for not more than ten years when great bodily injury results; or
(2) by a fine of not less than five thousand dollars nor more than ten thousand dollars and imprisonment for not more than twenty years when death results.
(C) The Department of Motor Vehicles must suspend the driver’s license of an habitual offender who is convicted, pleads guilty, or pleads nolo contendere pursuant to this section for a period to include incarceration plus two years when great bodily injury results and three years when death results. The period of incarceration must not include any portion of a suspended sentence such as probation, parole, supervised furlough, or community supervision. For suspension purposes of this section, convictions arising out of a single incident shall run concurrently.