When you are involved in a vehicular collision on the roads of Westchester County, it is always best to call the police to the scene so that the officer can investigate the circumstances and provide their findings to you in an official police car accident report.
The method for obtaining your own copy of this report depends on who filed it. If the officer was a member of the Westchester County Police Department, you should go in person to the department headquarters. If your accident occurred on a toll road, you may have to go to the state-wide records website. If no report was filed for your accident, you may file your own report with the DMV within 10 days of the accident.
Get started today by calling the Westchester County car accident attorneys at The Martello Law Firm. Call (914) 685-6950 for your free initial case assessment.
How to Get a Copy of a Car Accident Police Report in Westchester County, NY
If a Westchester County police officer reported to the scene of your car accident and compiled the information for the report, the Westchester County Police Department is responsible for filing the official report. One way to get a copy of your official accident report in these situations is to go directly to the Westchester County Police headquarters.
To do this, visit the department headquarters office at 1 Saw Mill River Pkwy, Hawthorne, NY 10532. The offices are open between 8:30am and 4:30pm Monday through Friday. In order to obtain a copy of your police report, you must bring a valid photo ID as well as a completed copy of Form WCPD 82, which is the official request form for a police accident report. If you need help filling out the form or don’t have the adequate information to complete it, our Westchester County truck accident attorneys may be able to help.
Car accident reports won’t be available for request immediately after the accident. The process of compiling and submitting a report may take some time. For this reason, we recommend that you wait roughly one week after the accident to obtain your official copy.
How to Get a Copy of a Car Accident Police Report on a Toll Road in Westchester County, NY
If your accident occurred on a toll road, such as the New York State Thruway (which includes Route 90 and Route 87), you should take care to note who responded to the accident. It is more likely that a state trooper was called to your crash site, rather than an officer from the Westchester County Police Department. If this is the case, you won’t be able to obtain a copy of your official car accident report from department headquarters.
Instead, you will have to go through the online portal that services New York State at large. You will need specific information to conduct your search for your records, such as the names of the drivers involved and the date and location of the accident. You may also need the report reference number, which the officer will typically provide once they conclude their investigation at the scene of the accident. If you never received a reference number or were not able to stay at the scene due to your injuries, our Westchester County personal injury lawyers can help obtain it for you.
Online requests are accompanied by relatively small fees, even just to search for your accident report. To avoid having to pay this fee twice, be sure to wait about two weeks before requesting a copy of your accident. If your search is unable to return any results after two months have passed since the date of your accident, you should act quickly to make sure that your report is publicized by contacting The Martello Law Firm, PLLC.
Can You File a Car Accident Report Yourself in Westchester County, NY?
If a police officer in New York is called to the scene of a car accident that appears to have resulted in death, personal injury, or over $1,000 in property damage, the officer is required by New York traffic law to file an official report on the accident. However, there are a number of situations where no report might be filed. The officer may decide erroneously that the accident was not that serious or might not arrive at the scene.
At The Martello Law Firm, PLLC, we always recommend that you call 911 and request a police officer at the scene of your car accident. However, if you did not take this step, you may still be able to file your own official car accident report. In fact, you are actually required by law to do so if the accident meets the criteria listed above. You must file your accident report within 10 days of the accident.
The form that you must file to create your own official car accident report is Form MV-104. To complete the form, you should have the following information handy: the names of all parties involved, their insurance information, their injuries, the date and location of the accident, how the accident occurred, and property damage. Our Yonkers car accident attorneys can help you work through the details of your Form MV-104 so that no critical information is left out. Once you complete your report, submit it to the Crash Records Center of New York’s Department of Vehicles (DMV) at the address featured at the bottom of the form.
We Can Help You Get Your Westchester County Car Accident Police Report Today
If you are dealing with recovery from a serious car accident, you don’t have any time to waste. Place a call to our Yonkers personal injury lawyers today at (914) 685-6950 so that we can assist you with your next steps.
