A good witness can mean the difference between recovering damages after a motor vehicle accident and being liable to the other party for their damages. But finding witnesses can be a challenge.
Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Time is of the essence
Locating a witness days or months after an accident can be difficult. Even if you’re able to find the witness, the person may no longer remember the details of the accident. Furthermore, a significant time lapse affects the witness’s credibility in the eyes of the judge and jury.
Even though you will understandably be shaken up following your accident, you’ll want to begin the process of identifying witnesses as soon as you are able to ensure that you’re safe.
Types of witnesses
The most obvious witnesses to a car accident are the passengers of the vehicles involved in the collision. However, because these individuals are often friends and family members of the drivers, their statements, while important, are less credible.
On the other hand, there are often a number of unbiased and sometimes overlooked witnesses to an accident such as:
- Pedestrians
- Drivers and passengers in other vehicles
- People in adjacent buildings
- Emergency responders
Keep in mind that even if a witness didn’t observe the actual collision, they may still be able to provide valuable information.
For example, a witness may have observed one of the drivers failing to use their turn signal. Similarly, a witness who didn’t observe the actual collision may have seen that one of the drivers appeared injured or inebriated after the accident. Witnesses might also overhear damaging statements made by drivers or passengers that, depending on the circumstances, might be admissible in court.
Information to get from witnesses
Witnesses are notoriously difficult to track down after an accident. For this reason, it’s important to obtain as much contact information as possible from each witness. This includes their:
- Home and work addresses
- Home and work telephone numbers
- Telephone numbers of someone close to the witness (such as a spouse)
Once you obtain the witness’s contact information, you will want to determine:
- Where the witness was positioned at the time of the accident
- What the witness saw and heard
- Where the witness was coming from and going to
If the witness is cooperative and their statements support your claim, ask them to draft and sign a brief statement recounting what they saw. Some cell phones even have voice recording programs that you can use to obtain a recorded statement. Keep in mind that you want the witness to be on your side. So, if the witness seems uncomfortable or agitated, simply take down their contract information and avoid pushing the envelope.
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Finally, be sure to alert the responding police officer to any helpful witnesses. Most police officers will attempt to locate and speak to witnesses on their own, but you don’t want to leave such an important task entirely up to them.
Finding witnesses long after an accident
As mentioned above, identifying and locating a witness days or months after an accident can be challenging. However, there are a couple of resources that might help:
Police reports
Police reports are available to the public (the process of obtaining a police report varies by state). The police report will list all witnesses identified by the responding officer along with their contact information.
Canvasing the scene
If there is no police report (or you believe there are additional unidentified witnesses), you can canvas the scene. Revisit the scene at the same time of day as the accident. Take a look at what’s around.
Are there people waiting for the bus who may have been waiting for the bus at the time of the accident? Who’s in the office that overlooks the spot where the accident occurred?
Put on your detective hat and attempt to locate possible witnesses.
Other witnesses
One witnesses often leads to additional witnesses. Ask each witness you locate whether they remember anyone else at the scene.
What to do if you still can’t find witnesses?
Identifying and locating witnesses can be a real challenge, particularly when a lot of time has elapsed. Keep in mind that attorneys have a number of search tools at their disposal to locate witnesses. Moreover, attorneys can issue subpoenas to procure statements from uncooperative witnesses.
If you’re having trouble identifying and locating witnesses, don’t think you have to do it alone. Contact a personal injury lawyer sooner rather than later.
Have you attempted to find a witness after an accident? Were you a witness to a crash?
Tell us about your experiences in the comments below.
Cristoper cabrera says
I am looking for anyone that had witnessed a motorcycle accident on oldkeen mill rd. I was riding South bound ear the medical center.when a Honda civic made a turn in front of me. I tried to avoid her best possible but I still hit her on the left side.. when I went to pick up to get it out the road. The car that I was in an accident with decided to leave the scene. I had to follow her until finally she stopped.. the police did not give her a ticket for leaving the scene. An I had lost my witness. Pls. I need help.
Cristoper Cabrera says
I was in a motorcycle accident July 15 ,2019 around 6:50 _7:00 p.m. I was riding on oldkeen mill rd. South bound. Passing the school and the medical center .a Honda civic made a right turning in to the lane I was in.i tried to avoid her best as possible but I still hit her on the left side of her car. After the impact. I went to pick up my motorcycle to get it out of the way.a witness had stop and ask if I was ok. At the same time I see the person I was involved in an accident with starting to leave ygr Sean. I thought she was just going to full over but she kept going and made a right on carrleigh pkwy. So I started my bike and followed her hunk my horn several time until she finally stopped where the road meets traford lane.unfortunetly I had lost my witness. Because of this. With that being said pls. I am looking for anyone that had witnessed this accident. Please. Email me or report it to th ed nearest police station.thank you..
PETER HETTISH says
I seek out a individual who witnessed my accident on july 10th at the intersection canoga and Saticoy the gentleman was driving a black range rover super flashy
PETER HETTISH says
also this intersection is a photo enforced my insurance company says they never have tried to obtain a photo this photo will show clearly that she ran the red light
Ian Pisarcik says
Peter,
You might consider contacting an attorney in your area. An attorney will be able to investigate the accident and obtain any photos that might have been taken.
Gloria says
Fri night 10:15pm
Deer on memorial drive accident between pale car then a red car colliding from behind .. any witnesses most appreciated . 0422696391
Brendon says
On October 12th 2019 some guy in a white Nissan suv rear ended me and pushed me into two other cars. Not only is my car wrecked but he’s filed a claim against me claiming I cut him off and that one of the passengers in his car was injured. I’ve sent pictures of the vehicles to his insurance agency and also a police report but now I need a witness and this accident happened almost two weeks ago. Does anyone know how I would be able to find a witness for a testimony in an accident that wasn’t my fault
Melissa Gold says
Hi, Brendon. That’s a great question, and I’m sorry to hear this happened but glad you’re ok.
Unfortunately, finding a witness for an accident two weeks ago is going to be difficult. There are a few issues: One is that you’re unlikely to locate passers-by or other motorists at this point. The second is that people’s memories become fuzzy about the details. Especially when it didn’t happen to them, the likelihood that a stranger is going to remember the details of how an accident occurred weeks ago is slim.
But, if the photos and the police report don’t tell the story or provide enough evidence, you do still have a few options. One is to return to the scene of the accident and see if there’s anyone who was there at the time. If the accident happened in front of a home or business, for example, there’s a chance that someone who’s in that place every day at the particular time might have witnessed it. If there are businesses nearby, walk in and ask if anyone there witnessed the accident and how much they remember.
The second option is to see if any of the businesses or homes nearby have surveillance video that might’ve captured anyone as a witness. The challenge is that most businesses (and residents, too) likely purge their digital surveillance videos after a certain amount of time, but you could approach them and ask if they have any footage around the time the accident happened. If so, you’d still need to find a way to identify the individuals in the video. The business might be able to do so if they’re their staff or customers, but the business is also not legally obligated to do so.
It sounds like you already have access to the police report, so if there aren’t witnesses listed there, the police won’t have additional records. It’s unfortunate that so much time has passed because that does limit your ability to find credible witnesses. You could contact the drivers of the other involved vehicles (the ones in front of you) and see if those drivers either gathered names of witnesses or could be witnesses, themselves, if they happened to see how the accident happened.
If each of these attempts is unsuccessful, your next call could be to a personal injury lawyer. Sometimes lawyers have ways of finding witnesses that you might not have considered. Certainly, a lawyer can help you best present the evidence to mitigate your liability for the collision. Most personal injury lawyers offer an initial free consultation, so you can get a better sense of what can be done about the liability issues. Enjuris provides a free Personal Injury Law Firm Directory that can help you find a lawyer near you. Best of luck!
Sol Koppel says
I am looking for a witness to a car accident that happened on 09/21/2018 on 491(Locanto Hway) and W Murray St. at approximately at 9:00Pm. I was traveling south in the inner lane of 491. A black car was stopped in the inner lane of 491 going north. A car drove up going north and stopped behind the car currently in the inner lane also going north.
I made a left turn onto W. Murray St. At that time the car that was stopped behind the car in the inner left lane going north revved up his engine, turned his wheel to the right and rushed into the outer lane going north on 491. I’m sure that this other car noticed that I had made my left turn onto W. Murray St. However, with disregard he keep coming at a rapid pace and crashed into the very tip of my vehicle taking out my complete front end.
I would appreciate you contacting me to hopefully get your viewpoints on just what your may remember of this accident.
Ian Pisarcik says
Good luck, Sol!
Are there any businesses located on the street where the accident occurred? If so, it may be worth stopping by and asking the employees if they saw anything.
Injured driver says
Anyone witness an accident on 8th Street and Bonnie Brae on 12/9/19? This woman in white SUV ran a red light and slammed into me, totaling my car and injuring me. Please come forward if you saw.
Thank you
Ian Pisarcik says
I hope you find someone who witnessed this accident. If there were any businesses nearby, consider stopping in to politely ask if anyone saw anything.