An eyewitness and their testimony is important on piecing together the details of a road accident. Through an eyewitness testimony, the cause of the accident could be determined, and the party at-fault could be identified. This would mean damages could be sought by the victims.
How reliable are eyewitnesses?
However, not all eye witness testimonies are accurate and reliable. The lack of concrete and correct eyewitness testimonies can make it difficult for the police to create a clear report of how an accident happened. This is what happened in an accident Wednesday, May 15, 2013 which involved a motorcycle, a car and a pedestrian.
Confusing eyewitness case
A MetroSafe supervisor said that the accident happened on Shelbyville Road in Louisville. He added that the accident was reported three various ways: a car hitting a pedestrian, a car hitting a motorcycle and a motorcycle hitting a pedestrian. It was unclear how the accident took place, which scenario happened or if it is a combination of all three scenarios. At least one person was hospitalized in the accident. The name of the injured person has not been released, but according to the police, the injuries were non-life threatening.
The importance of eyewitnesses
Usually, police and investigators only have evidence left behind at the scene. They were not physically present when the accident happened. That is why police seek eyewitnesses and urge them to come forward. An eyewitness may be able to describe specific things in an accident and verify preliminary investigation by the police. It is difficult to complete the investigation when there is no witness to talk with them about the accident. While the testimony of an eyewitness can be useful and powerful, it could be utterly wrong, too. Any inaccurate or wrong testimony can lead to an incorrect traffic accident reconstruction. That’s why it is important for the police to consider testimonies of reliable witnesses only.
I am hoping for the immediate recovery of the injured person on the Shelbyville road accident. If you ever witness an accident, please consider calling the police to tell them more information about the accident. This is especially helpful in hit-and-run accidents where the victims may not have seen the person who hit them. Any information you have about an accident will really help with the victim’s case.