Crash Scene Investigation

Law Enforcement II
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Record/Collect Evidence
• Fully identify all parties involved (who)
• Record as much vehicle information as possible (what)
– CYMBALS
• Color
• Year
• Make/Model
• Body style
• Additional information
• License number
• State of registration
• Owner information
• Damage
• Damage (crush) rating
• Scrape or skid length
• Damage to other items (i.e. poles, rails, or street signs)

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Record/Collect Evidence (continued)
• Interview all parties involved to determine what
happened (who, what, and how)
– Drivers
– Passengers
– Witnesses
– First responders
– Medical personnel
• Record all injuries
• Determine when the crash occurred (when)
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Analyze Crash Scene Evidence
• Five Mutually Exclusive Categories of Injury
– Fatal Injury – any injury that results in death within thirty days of the crash
– Incapacitating injury – any injury, other than a fatal injury, which prevents
the injured person from walking, driving, or normally continuing the
activities he or she was capable of performing before the injury occurred
– Non-incapacitating injury – any injury, other than a fatal injury or an
incapacitating injury, which is evident to observers at the scene of the crash
in which the injury occurred
– Possible injury – any reported or claimed injury which is not a fatal injury,
incapacitating injury, or non-incapacitating evident injury
– No injury – a situation in which there is no reason to believe that the person
received any bodily harm from the motor vehicle traffic crash in which he or
she was involved

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Analyze Crash Scene Evidence
(continued)

• The type classification, also called First Harmful

Event, for motor vehicle crashes applies to the nature
of the crash and the location of the motor vehicle in
relation to the roadway at the time of the first injury
or damage-producing event
• Two classification categories include broad injury
and damage-producing events, collision and non-
collision, have ten mutually exclusive categories
describing the nature of crashes that may occur on or
off the roadway
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Analyze Crash Scene Evidence
(continued)
• Non-collision involving a motor vehicle in transport
– Overturning
– Other non-collision
• Collision between a motor vehicle in transport and a(n)
– Pedestrian
– Motor vehicle in transport
– Parked motor vehicle
– Railway train
– Pedalcyclist
– Animal
– Fixed object
– Other object

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Drawing Diagrams
• Preparing an accurate, legible crash scene
diagram is one of the most important tasks
performed by crash scene investigators
• The crash scene diagram is a graphic
representation of the crash scene
• The crash scene diagram and the narrative crash
report are the records that insurance companies,
courts, traffic engineers, and others may review

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Drawing Diagrams (continued)
• Create a field sketch of the scene
– A rough drawing that “maps” the crash scene as observed
by the crash scene investigator on his or her arrival
– The purpose of the field sketch is to assist the investigator
in recording measurements taken at the scene
– The crash scene investigator should retain the field sketch
and rough investigation notes in the case file
– The investigator draws the field sketch by first recording
the outline of the roadways and then drawing all things
relevant to the crash in their relative positions

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Drawing Diagrams (continued)
• The field sketch should include the following
information which will appear in the final crash scene
diagram:
– Features of the roadway (i.e., fog lines, centerlines, etc.)
– Positions of vehicles, bodies, debris, blood, etc.
– Positions of traffic control devices, including advanced
warning devices
– Environmental factors such as snow, ice, and standing water
– Any item or terrain feature that may have been a factor in the
crash
– Names of streets and addresses, if applicable
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Drawing Diagrams (continued)
• The field sketch should include the following information which
will appear in the final crash scene diagram: (continued)
– Type of road surface or other surface information when the crash is off the
road
– Anything that may have obstructed the driver’s vision and contributed to
the crash
– Types and locations of road lights if the crash occurred at night
– Skid marks or other relevant marks (i.e., tire prints in snow or mud) or
gouges
– Debris related to the crash
– Road grade or superelevation
– Lane and road widths
– Reference points

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Drawing Diagrams (continued)
• Use numbers to identify the vehicles involved in the
crash
• Use letters to identify the reference points
• Orient the sketch so that north is at the top of the
page
• Write all information on the sketch so that it is
parallel with the top and bottom edges of the sketch
– This makes the sketch look neater
– It also makes reading the information of the sketch easier

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Mathematical Calculations
• Speed = distance / time or s = d / t
• Velocity = 1.466(speed) or v = 1.466(s)
• Time = (velocity)(acceleration due to gravity)(drag
factor) or t = vgf
• Distance = (velocity)(time in seconds) or d = vt

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Final Scale Drawing
• Plan
– Determine the largest
axis (north-south or
east-west) with which
to orient your paper
– Choose the scale of
the drawing (i.e., 1
inch = 20 feet, 1 inch
= 10 feet, etc.)

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Final Scale Drawing (continued)
• Draw
– Draw the streets first
– Most intersections can be drawn from pairs of
parallel lines in either a “┼” or “┬” configuration
– Reconstruct angled intersections from the
measurements taken by extending the curb lines
to form a triangle
– Add reference point(s) to the drawing

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Final Scale Drawing (continued)
• Draw (continued)
– Draw any other relevant item in its correct position
• Decide the scale you will use and record it on your
diagram
• Draw all of the object and geographic locations within
one scale foot of actual measurements

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Final Scale Drawing (continued)
• Draw (continued)
– Draw any other relevant item in its correct position
(continued)
• Designate “North” with the appropriate direction
symbol at the top of the page, and write the word
“Approximate”
• Label all reference points with “Rp” followed by a
number
• Label all spots as “A, B, C,” etc.
• Use a traffic template to draw

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Final Scale Drawing (continued)
N

500 Blk N. Cooper St.

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Final Scale Drawing (continued)
• Draw (continued)
– Draw any other relevant item in its correct position
(continued)
• Identify all streets and roads by
– Name and number
– Composition of surface
– Grade
– Superelevation
• Write all numbers and letters on the drawing parallel to the
top and the bottom edges of the paper
• Indicate the front of the vehicle with a small triangle, with the
point (tip) towards the front of the vehicle
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Resources
• Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT)
– Motor Vehicle Crash Manual
http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/library/forms/cit/crash102_fi
nal_10_08.pdf
– Instructions to Police for Reporting Crashes
http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/trf/crash_notifications/cr_10
0_2012.pdf
– Vehicle Damage Guide for Crash Investigators
http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/library/forms/cit/crash80_fin
al_draft_7_08.pdf
• Law Enforcement Explorers Traffic Accident Study Guide
2010
http://resources.learningforlife.org/exploring/lawenforcement/st
udy/traffic7.pdf Copyright © Texas Education Agency 2012. All rights reserved.
• Ed Heads Crash Scene Lesson
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