As a driver, you know that accidents occur regularly on West Virginia’s roads. There are situations where you’ll benefit from knowing where a crash has happened and who has been injured. Fortunately, there are resources on how to find out about a car accident.
West Virginia Resources for Avoiding Accident Scenes
It’s not uncommon for crashes to delay traffic. If you’re planning to head out and have a time-sensitive trip to get through, you should know about the ways to find out if there’s been a traffic collision on your route.
WV 511 is a travel resource provided by the West Virginia Parkways Authority. With this resource, you can check for a variety of road events, including accidents and incidents, planned events like construction, road conditions, signs, national weather, cameras, and truck parking. With car accidents, WV 511 assigns a priority to the incident and provides information on the route name and point name. There’s also a column for messages that gives a rundown of what’s going on.
In addition to WV 511, you can check for accident updates through WDTV Channel 5. They report on accidents all across the state to give drivers a heads up of what to expect on the road.
Having an idea of where accidents are located can also keep you safe. If possible, choose alternate routes of travel to avoid the crash scene. There’s the potential for additional accidents to happen in the area if other drivers are rubbernecking and not paying attention to what’s happening in front of them.
How to Find Out If a Loved One’s Been in a Crash
It’s normal to worry about family members and friends when you aren’t able to get a hold of them. While the problem could be a dead phone battery or a lack of reception, there are times when people aren’t able to get a hold of loved ones because of traffic accidents. Finding out if someone has been in a crash can be as simple as making a phone call, but sometimes it’s a complicated process. In order to ease your concerns and find the whereabouts of your loved one, there are a few steps you can take to locate them.
Contacting Local Hospitals
The first step you can take is to contact local hospitals in the area you think your loved one was driving. This may be more challenging if they were on a road trip or business trip, but do what you can to narrow down the possibilities for their location. While federal regulations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) prevent hospital employees from releasing detailed information about a patient, they will be able to tell you if the person has been admitted or is present in the facility.
At some facilities, employees may be able to give you a general description of injuries, as in stable, serious, or critical. If the hospital refuses to give out any information, you can ask for a patient’s room number. If your loved one is there, they’ll likely provide you with where they’re located.
Police Involvement
If a car accident victim is unable to make contact with their family, it’s likely the responding police officer will make an attempt to do so. If you’re looking for someone, call the local police and file a missing person’s report. The police officers responding will do what they can to help you find your loved one. If they’ve been in an accident, police will have access to more resources to determine where they are now.
It’s important to note that calling dispatch to check if someone’s been in an accident might not work. This is because if the crash recently happened, it’s unlikely the responding officer has had time to file an official report.
Researching Accidents Online
You can also try an online search. Some newspapers and other searchable online databases let you look for recent and archived articles based on names. This often works best if you’re looking to search in a particular area. Any recent news articles including the person’s name could show up.
Car Accident Claim Representation
If someone you know has been injured in a crash, they may be able to take legal action to recover compensation for their losses. Often times, accidents are the result of negligent drivers. When reckless drivers are distracted, fatigued, or impaired, they’re putting others’ lives at risk. To learn more about the benefits of working with a law firm to handle a car accident claim, contact DiPiero Simmons McGinley & Bastress, PLLC today.
