How to get your crash report in Athens-Clarke County.

CRASH REPORTS · ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY, GEORGIA

Who has your crash report in Athens-Clarke County?

Your crash report is kept by the agency whose officer came to the scene. Almost everywhere in Athens-Clarke County that is the Athens-Clarke County Police Department. On the University of Georgia campus it is UGA Police. Inside Winterville it is the city’s own police, and on Loop 10 and the state routes a State Patrol trooper may write it.

Maybe it happened on Atlanta Highway by the mall, on the Loop at the Lexington Road exit, or on a side street off Prince Avenue. The tow truck is gone, your car is somewhere you didn’t take it, and you have a slip of paper with a number on it. Maybe you don’t even have that, because you left in an ambulance. Now an adjuster is calling and asking for your version of events before you have seen the officer’s.

That report matters more than most people think. The insurance company will read it before it decides what your claim is worth, so you should read it first. Our Athens office on South Milledge Avenue can track it down for you, and the rest of this page shows you how to do it yourself.

Don’t sign anything an insurance company sends you, whether it’s a statement, a medical release or a check, before you’ve talked with an attorney.

Which agency was it? Start with where you were

In Athens-Clarke County, the agency depends on whose ground the crash happened on. Unification in 1991 left one police department for city and county alike, so most reports sit in one place. The exceptions are the UGA campus, where University of Georgia Police have their own jurisdiction, Winterville, which kept its own police, and the State Patrol on state routes.

Where it happened	Who usually responds	Where to ask for the report
Anywhere in Athens-Clarke County: downtown, Atlanta Highway, Lexington Road, Prince Avenue, the Eastside and the county roads out toward the river	Athens-Clarke County Police Department	Through one of the two online report vendors the county police use, or at the East Precinct, 3035 Lexington Road. Private property crashes, such as a parking lot, are handled in person and cost $24.
On the UGA campus, including Sanford Drive, Baldwin Street, the Tate Center area and campus lots	University of Georgia Police Department	UGA Police Records Division, 286 Oconee Street, Suite 100 South. State accident reports are $5, usually ready within three business days, and also posted online. Cash or money order only at the counter.
Inside Winterville: Main Street, Winterville Road and the US 78 corridor through town	Winterville Police Department	The city police, with your report number. Winterville is its own city and keeps its own reports.
Loop 10 and the state routes, wherever a trooper responds	Georgia State Patrol, Post 32 in Athens	The Georgia Department of Public Safety open records unit, by mail, phone or email, or through the Athens post
Not sure where you were?	Look at the officer’s card or the slip you were handed	The agency name printed there is the one that has your report

Campus is the tricky one. UGA Police patrol university property and can enforce state law close to it, so a crash on Lumpkin Street at the Tate Center may be a UGA case while the same wreck a few blocks north on Baxter is a county police case. On a serious crash both may respond. Whichever agency wrote the report is the one to ask, and the name on the card settles it. Our guide to crashes around Baxter and Lumpkin goes block by block.

Winterville is the other exception. It was never part of the unification, so a crash inside the city limits goes to Winterville Police, not the county. If you were on US 78 and aren’t sure which side of the line you were on, the report number format and the officer’s card will tell you. Our Winterville crash guide covers the rest.

How long does it take to get a crash report in Athens?

Most Athens-Clarke County crash reports are ready within a few business days. UGA Police say a report is usually available within three business days. The county police post standard reports to their online vendors on a similar timeline, and private property reports are picked up at the East Precinct. A crash still under investigation takes longer.

A serious wreck, a crash with a death or one that led to criminal charges can take much longer, because the investigation has to finish first. The State Patrol’s specialized crash teams work the worst ones, and those reports can be weeks out. If a week goes by and the report still isn’t ready, ask whether it is on hold for that reason. Don’t let a delayed report stop you from getting medical care or from talking to a lawyer. Neither one has to wait for it.

Who is allowed to get a copy?

Georgia law limits who can get a crash report. The drivers, passengers and others named in it are generally covered, and so are their lawyers and insurers. Anyone else has to explain their connection to the crash in writing first. UGA Police call that a statement of need. Have your report number, date and location ready.

If someone else is handling things while you recover, such as a family member or your lawyer, they can usually ask on your behalf. A lawyer’s request also tends to come with something you may not get at the counter: someone who will read the report line by line and ask for the photos, the diagram and the officer’s notes if they matter to your claim. Our Law Library page on who can get a Georgia crash report explains the rule.

Why the report matters for your claim

The crash report is often the first document an insurance adjuster reads. The officer’s diagram, the citation, the listed witnesses and the contributing factors can shape what the company offers before anyone talks to you. A report is not the final word on fault in Georgia, but a wrong detail in it can follow your claim.

Read yours as soon as you can. Check the names, the insurance information, the direction each vehicle was traveling and the street names. If something is wrong, it is easier to deal with early. The agency that wrote it also tells you something about your deadline: a UGA Police report hints at a claim against the state, and a county police report on a county vehicle or a bad road hints at the Unified Government’s short notice clock. Our page on Athens-Clarke claim deadlines and courts walks through which clock is which.

For crashes between cars, our page on car wreck claims in Athens explains what happens after the report. Loop 10 carries heavy freight around the city, and a tractor-trailer crash brings in a trucking company, its insurer and records that don’t stay around forever, which is why we move fast on truck crashes on the Athens Perimeter. If you were walking when a car hit you, read about pedestrians hit in Athens. Reports in those cases are often thin, especially when the driver left.

Hurt in a wreck in Athens or Clarke County in the last few weeks? Call us today at 706-707-5611. Tell us where it happened and we’ll work out which agency has the report.

What should you do this week?

1. Get medical care, and keep every discharge paper and bill.
2. Find the officer’s card or the report number, and note which agency it came from: county police, UGA Police, Winterville or the State Patrol.
3. Write down where it happened while you still remember: the road, the nearest cross street and which way you were headed.
4. Take photos of every vehicle, the damage and your injuries. Keep the names and numbers of anyone who stopped.
5. Call 706-707-5611 and talk with our Athens injury lawyers. Don’t give a recorded statement or sign anything first.

Kenneth S. Nugent, P.C. has helped injured Georgians since 1980, and our Athens office is at 394 South Milledge Avenue, inside the Loop. You pay nothing up front, and there’s zero fee unless we win.

What do the crash report terms mean?

• Crash report custodian. The agency that keeps the official report, and the one you ask for a copy.
• Report number. The number on the card or slip the officer gave you. Most agencies need it to find your report.
• Unified government. A city and a county merged into one. Athens and Clarke County unified in 1991, which is why one police department covers both.
• Campus police. The University of Georgia’s own police department, a state agency with its own records and its own jurisdiction on and near campus.
• Statement of need. A written explanation an agency asks for before giving a crash report to someone not named in it.
• Open records request. A written request to a government agency for a copy of a public record, such as a crash report.
• Private property report. A report on a crash in a parking lot or other private area. Athens-Clarke County Police handle these separately from road crashes.