How To Locate Witnesses After Auto Accident?

Someone that has just been in an accident finds it hard to think clearly. That fact highlights the challenging nature of the need to find a possible witness. Yet there are really lots of potential witnesses, including those that could be classed as impartial.

Possible, impartial witnesses

• Unbiased pedestrians
• People in the adjacent buildings
• Emergency responders
• Those standing at a nearby bus stop, or spot for those expecting an Uber or Lyft driver

Available but biased witnesses:

• Those that were riding in one of the involved vehicles
• Someone that had been standing on the curb, awaiting the arrival of one of the involved drivers.

What sort of contact information should a witness share with the involved drivers, or with any police that arrive at the scene of the accident?

• The witness’ home and work address
• The witness’ home and work phone number
• A number for the witness’ spouse, friend or neighbor

What could the victim of an accident hope to learn from a witness?

It would be of importance what that particular witness had seen or heard at the time of the accident’s occurrence. The police will note from where was that witness coming at that same time, and where was the witness going? While a bystander might seem impartial, the questions about the witness’ movement could reveal important facts.

As understood by Accident Lawyer in Waterloo, a good witness must be impartial. If someone had been waiting to get a ride from a friend, and then the same friend was involved in a collision, the person waiting could not be called impartial.

It could prove useful to know what a specific witness had heard from others, with respect to a given collision. This should not be an opinion, regarding who ought to be held responsible, unless one of the involved drivers had left the collision site. Instead, witnesses might be able to share facts that could alert authorities to the presence of clues.

For example, witnesses might know about the existence of a video camera at a location that is close to the crash site. That camera could be in a parking lot, or on the outside of a building.

Maybe someone that had witnessed the collision later heard mention of a half-eaten sandwich that had been found on the seat of one of the damaged automobiles. That would suggest that the auto’s driver had been eating and driving at the same time.

Alternately, perhaps there was a cell phone down between the seats that were behind the dashboard. That could suggest that the driver might have been trying to retrieve that phone during the moments before the actual crash. Obviously, any clue could indicate the need for a more thorough investigation.