1 / 21

Accident Investigation

Accident Investigation. Patrol Officer Responsibilities. Accident Call Initiated. You should know… Location Severity Whether traffic or highway is blocked Make a decision on route. Response to the Scene. Determine if there is a true emergency If yes, use lights AND siren

xantha-watson
Download Presentation

Accident Investigation

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Accident Investigation Patrol Officer Responsibilities

  2. Accident Call Initiated • You should know… • Location • Severity • Whether traffic or highway is blocked • Make a decision on route

  3. Response to the Scene • Determine if there is a true emergency • If yes, use lights AND siren • If no, respond quickly but within all rules of the road • Adhere to all statutes: • 346.03 • 346.04 • 347.38 • Follow all department policies

  4. Be Alert! • Hit and run vehicles fleeing away from the accident • Excessive speed • Equipment malfunctions • Damaged parts • If possible, call out 28 and description but continue to the accident if you are the primary officer

  5. Arrival at the Scene • Protect the scene • Be close • Be alert for hazards • Spills • Gases • Wires • Stay UPWIND AND UPHILL if there are potential hazmat danger!!!!

  6. First Assessment • Look around • Request additional… • Officers if • There is more than one vehicle involved • Roads need to be closed and traffic re-routed • Fire if smoke, spills, or hazmat exists • Ambulance if people appear injured or killed (one ambulance for every injured person) • Wreckers • Rescue

  7. Care for the Injured • This is the primary responsibility of the responding officer • Protecting the scene from secondary crashes must be done first • Triage first, treat serious injuries first • Turn over treatment to EMS with a report

  8. Determine if Hit and Run • Obtain description of vehicle • Use CYMBAL • Get direction of travel and time of accident • Description of driver and occupants if possible • Don’t forget the license plate!!! • Send out ATL • Preserve all evidence

  9. Locate and Interview Accident Participants • Interview all drivers, pedestrians, or other INVOLVED in the accident • Keep them separated • Ask each, “What happened?” • Get basic information from all (name, DOB, etc..) • Keep an open mind • Tell each party that you will be talking with them again to follow up

  10. Specific Questions • Remember to maintain constitutional issues • Determine: • OWI? • Injured? • Tired? • Physically disabled? • Suicidal or other unusual behavior? • Also ask: • Insurance information • Seat belt • Occupant identities

  11. Interview Hints • Interview separately • Do the interviews as soon as possible after the accident • Question them regarding • Their trip plan • When they first perceived danger • What he or she was doing just before the accident • How fast were they going • What evasive action if any, they took • Condition of the vehicle • Look inside the vehicle later for evidence of Inattentive Driving or OWI

  12. Interview Witnesses • Ask each of them open-ended questions • “What happened?” or “What did you see?” • Where were you • What called your attention to the accident? • How fast were the vehicles going? • Did you see brake lights? • Did you hear braking noise? • Remember to get basic information for follow-up interviews and for court as most will be anxious to get going!

  13. Check the Scene for Physical Evidence • In some situations, the evidence may be disappearing so you may have to act quickly to preserve it • Skid marks • Straight skids • Shadow skids • Other skids • General vehicle crush • Debris on the roadway

  14. Evidence continues • Gouges on the roadway • Fluids • Traffic signs and devices • Lamp examination • Road conditions • OWI and drug use evidence

  15. Specific Vehicle Evidence • Contact damage • Induced damage (typically crumbling or broken glass) • Vehicle equipment violations • Brakes • Lights • Tires • Light switch position • Airbag deployment

  16. Photograph the Scene • Seriousness determines need for photos • Prior to vehicles being moved if possible • Photograph • Overall scene • Vehicle damage • Traffic signs and controls • Road gouges • Skid marks • Debris • Injured parties or bodies • Video record all serious or fatal accidents

  17. Measure the Scene • Use the XY coordinate system • Complete a field sketch • Outline the roadway edges first • Add vehicles final resting points (if known) • Add skid marks • Add other evidence • Measure all evidence locations and roadway features including crosswalks, signs, ditches, shoulders, etc…

  18. Clear Up Accident Scene • Tow all vehicles • Clean up all glass and parts • Open road to traffic • Make arrangements to transport parties left without vehicles

  19. Take Appropriate Enforcement Action • Arrest • Cite party most at fault for the violation that most contributed to the crash • Almost all accidents should result in a citation for the party that was at fault • Remember to consider all factors in the investigation NOTE!!!! Don’t investigate accidents where there is a conflict of interest

  20. Complete Accident Report • Note the criteria for reportable accidents • $1000 vehicles (including gov vehicles) • $1000 personal property • $200 government property • Injury • Fatality • Complete within 10 days • Include diagram • Possible contributing factors are some of the most important fields…

  21. Questions???

More Related