A car accident is a scary event. It's easy to lose focus after such a traumatic experience, even if the accident didn't involve you directly but did occur right in front of you. After assessing the victims and calling 911, if necessary, as well as the police, take out a notepad and write down everything you remember. Your traffic accident statement could be critical to the participants' insurance companies as well as the police. As a witness to an accident, you should include several things in a traffic accident statement.
Stay at the scene of a major car accident until after the police arrive. Understand that police take statements first from the people directly involved in the accident and may then want a statement from you as a witness of the accident. Use your waiting time to prepare for your statement.
Use your cell phone or camera to take photos of the accident from your position when it occurred. Take photos or write down the license plates of each vehicle involved.
Write down your contact information and as many details, in sequential order, of the accident as you remember on a notepad or sheet of paper. Focus on writing down facts instead of feelings. Include what you were doing when the accident occurred, where you were headed, what happened immediately before and after the accident, what the demeanor was of the participants and whether or not there were any other witnesses. Write a detailed description of the damage to each car involved.
Wait for the police to approach you and provide them with your information. Keep your notes to refer to later unless the police request them, in which case ask if you can make a copy of those notes for yourself before handing them over.
