What needs to be done locally in case of a car accident while travelling in the US?
My friend is away from home right now; he lives in Ohio and has had a car accident in the state of New Jersey. What does he need to do locally before he can return home? He says a state trooper took his testimony; should he stick around and ensure a police report is filed or can he leave and handle anything else via mail?
Best Answer
First, determine if emergency medical assistance is needed. Then, take pictures and get contact information from any bystander that witnessed the collision. Do not assume that the police/trooper will be thorough here -- they have many other accidents to work, crimes to solve etc. Second, tell the officer exactly what happened and make sure his/her version of events shows up in the police reports. Call your own insurance carrier to report the accident while on the scene to make sure you've done what your insurer may require. Typically, it takes 3-5 days for a police report to become available so waiting is usually not an option and many states now have there reports online. It should not matter that your friend travels out of state as long as this information is secure.
For more useful information, see McAleer Law's page "what to do after a car accident" -- it has a wealth of useful information.
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Answer 2
The normal procedure is that trooper or a local police officer write up a report and mail it to their address. Problem is that they forget so what your friend needed to do was take down the information about the police officer. Department, Badge Number, and Name. Once he gets back to Ohio unless the report arrives in 2 weeks he will have to start calling up the department and asking for that report. The better solution would be to have his insurance company do that if he has comprehensive coverage on his insurance.
Thankfully he didn't total himself which has been known to happen on the back roads of the United States. :)
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