If you were hurt in a car accident, getting a copy of the police report for the accident should be on your to-do list. This report might not be usable in court as evidence in every situation, but it can provide excellent information that the insurance company and your legal team will want to see.
You can usually get a police report in Ewing directly from the Records Bureau of the Ewing PD. You can also get reports from the state online after they are filed through the NJ State Police. As mentioned, getting an accident report will provide vital information you will want when building your case against the driver who hit you.
For a free case review, call Legal Care New Jersey’s car accident lawyers today at (732) 838-9769.
Getting a Police Report for a Crash in Ewing
Any time you are involved in a car accident, call the police. While the law might not require you to in accidents with very small amounts of damage, any injuries you face would automatically require you to report the accident. When the police respond, they will write up a report for the accident, and you can later get a copy by following these steps.
First, it is important to note which police department handled your accident. If your crash took place in Ewing, then it will probably be the Ewing Police Department that responded. However, accidents on highways might see a response from the NJ State Police instead, usually identifiable by their light blue uniforms. If a local police officer wrote up the report, you’ll want to contact their department; if a State Trooper filled out the report, you’ll want to contact the State Police instead. If your accident happened somewhere else but you live in Ewing, it might have been a different local PD that responded to your accident.
If you are getting a report from the Ewing PD, you can contact their Records Bureau with the contact info on their website. Police reports are eventually sent to the State Police for collection anyway, and you can get a crash report from the State of New Jersey through their web portal. Note, however, that this is only for accidents on “non-toll” roads, the NJ Turnpike, and the NJ Parkway. If you live in Ewing but your crash happened elsewhere, you might need to get your report from a different police department’s records office. If your crash happened on the AC Expressway, for example, the state portal lists a separate records agency you can contact.
If you are having trouble accessing the report or figuring out which department has your report, our Jersey City car accident lawyers can make that part of our investigation and help you obtain a copy of the report.
What’s In a Police Report for a Car Crash in Ewing, NJ?
The reason lawyers and insurance companies want a copy of your accident report is that it contains information that is helpful to confirming when and where the accident happened, who was involved, and other information about the case.
How They Are Written
These reports are usually written by the officer who responded to the crash, with some elements of the report potentially being filled out at the scene and the rest being filled in based on their notes. However, because this information is all secondhand, we cannot necessarily use it as evidence, even though it is helpful for other reasons.
Officer’s Narrative Section
A police report will usually contain the officer’s depiction of events, as they heard about them from the people involved in the crash. This will list things like where the drivers were, what cars they were in, what they were doing leading up to the crash, and what happened to cause the accident. Since the officer usually did not actually see the crash happen and their report is all based on what they heard from you and other witnesses, it should not be relied upon as evidence. Still, it is helpful for laying out the basic facts of the crash.
A police officer will usually draw a diagram of the crash, too.
People/Cars Involved
They will also list who was involved, any witnesses they talked to, and the contact info for each of these people. If you are unable to get the other driver’s information or insurance info from them – e.g., if they were unconscious – that should also be in the report, helping you find out who to hold responsible.
The officer should also describe and list the cars involved down to the make, model, color, and license plate number.
Officer’s Observations
Lastly, the report lists things the officer observed directly: injuries, vehicle damage, the weather and lighting at the scene, and more. These facts are often important, especially when it comes to what signs or signals controlled the street or intersection where the accident occurred.
Citations and Arrests
If the officer issued any citations, that would also be in the report, as would information the officer witnessed about a driver’s potential drunk driving. For example, if the officer noticed the driver who hit you had the odor of alcohol on their breath and was slurring their speech, that would be in the report. However, separate evidence like the driver’s eventual blood alcohol content might be in a separate report for the arrest (if they were in fact arrested).
When to Get a Police Report for a Car Crash in Ewing, NJ
After your accident, getting a copy of the police report is likely not high on your list. If you are planning on filing your case with your insurance company, they will likely obtain a copy of the report for themselves. If you are planning on working with a lawyer, getting a copy of your police report before contacting us would be helpful, but it is not necessarily required. All in all, we can help you get a copy when you need it.
Call Our Ewing, NJ Car Accident Lawyers for Help Today
If you were hurt in a crash, call the Lakewood, NJ car accident lawyers at Legal Care New Jersey today at (732) 838-9769.
