A.R.S. 28-666
Notice of accident
The driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or death of a person shall give notice of the accident immediately by the quickest means of communication, whether oral or written, to either:
1. The local police department if the accident occurs within a municipality.
2. The office of the county sheriff.
3. The nearest office of the highway patrol.
Comment: If you are in an auto accident that has injuries or death, and were one of the drivers, you need to notify law enforcement.
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A.R.S. 28-667
Written accident report; definition
A. A law enforcement officer or public employee who, in the regular course of duty, investigates a motor vehicle accident resulting in bodily injury, death or damage to the property of any person in excess of one thousand dollars or the issuance of a citation shall complete a written report of the accident as follows:
1. Either at the time of and at the scene of the accident or after the accident by interviewing participants or witnesses.
2. Within twenty-four hours after completing the investigation.
B. Every law enforcement officer or public employee who, in the regular course of duty, investigates a motor vehicle accident that results in damage to the property of any person in an amount of one thousand dollars or less, but that does not result in the issuance of a citation or bodily injury or death, shall complete a portion of the written report of the accident. The portion of the written report shall:
1. Be completed either at the time of and at the scene of the accident or after the accident by interviewing participants or witnesses.
2. Be completed within twenty-four hours after completing the investigation.
3. Include the following minimum information:
(a) The time, day, month and year of the accident.
(b) Information adequate to identify the location of the accident.
(c) Identifying information for all involved parties and witnesses, including name, age, sex, address, telephone number, vehicle ownership and registration and proof of insurance.
(d) A narrative description of the facts of the accident, a simple diagram of the scene of the accident and the investigating officer's name, agency and identification number.
C. The agency employing the officer or public employee:
1. Shall not allow a person to examine the accident report or any related investigation report or a reproduction of the accident report or a related investigation report if the request is for a commercial solicitation purpose.
2. May require a person requesting the accident or related investigative report to state under penalty of perjury that the report is not examined or copied for a commercial solicitation purpose.
3. May retain the original report.
4. Shall maintain an electronic copy of the original report if the agency elects not to retain the original report pursuant to paragraph 3 of this subsection.
5. Shall immediately forward a copy of the report to the department for its use.
D. The department may place notes, date stamps, identifying numbers, marks or other information on the copies as needed, if they do not alter the original information reported by the investigating officer or public employee.
E. For the purposes of this section, "commercial solicitation purpose" means a request for an accident report if there is neither:
1. A relationship between the person or the principal of the person requesting the accident report and any party involved in the accident.
2. A reason for the person to request the report other than for the purposes of soliciting a business or commercial relationship.
Comment: If you are were in an accident, the police report can be very important to obtain. It will sometimes function to assign fault or liability when dealing with insurance claims.
A.R.S. 28-668
Accidents involving death to drivers; testing alcohol concentration
A. A peace officer who investigates an accident that involves the death of one or more drivers shall promptly notify the county medical examiner of the death or deaths. If probable cause exists to believe that a deceased driver committed an alcohol related traffic offense, the county medical examiner shall test the deceased driver to determine the driver's alcohol concentration.
B. If a county medical examiner has not been appointed in the county in which the accident occurs, the peace officer shall notify and secure a physician licensed pursuant to title 32, chapter 13 or a person acting under the authority of a licensed physician to draw a sufficient sample of blood or other bodily substance for determining alcohol concentration. The investigating officer shall forward the sample to the department of public safety crime laboratory for analysis.
C. The investigating officer shall record on the accident report required under section 28-667 the results of the test to determine the alcohol concentration of the driver or drivers.
Comment: If there was a serious accident, the police can require the body of a driver who was killed to be examined for alcohol concentration. They must have reason to request the examination
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A.R.S. 28-669
Accident report forms
A. The department shall prepare and on request supply to police departments, sheriffs and other suitable agencies forms for accident reports required under this article that are appropriate with respect to the persons required to make the reports and the purposes to be served. The written reports to be made by investigating officers shall call for sufficiently detailed information to disclose with reference to a traffic accident the cause, the conditions then existing and the persons and vehicles involved.
B. An accident report required to be made in writing shall be made on the appropriate form approved by the department and shall contain all of the information required in the form unless it is not available.
C. The department shall modify the written accident report form in conjunction with state and local law enforcement agencies, engineering agencies and emergency medical service organizations.
Comment: As noted earlier, accident reports are extremely important if you are pursuing an insurance claim or civil case resulting from an auto accident. This forms are supposed to note the cause and potential liability of parties involved.
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