The first useful record is often already in your phone. Save it now. Then identify what other people have before the car is repaired, a camera records over yesterday’s footage or a witness becomes hard to find.
A crash report helps organize the facts, but it is only one part of the evidence. You can start preserving the rest while you wait for the report. In this InjuredTexan.com chapter, Jacob Alford explains both tasks, including the separate records routes around San Marcos and Hays County.
In this chapter
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Get and understand crash reports
Ordering, certified copies, contributing factors and the report’s limits.
8 questions in Get and understand crash reports
- Where do I get the crash report?
- What if it is not available or cannot be found?
- Do I need a certified copy?
- Can a passenger or family member request it?
- What does the report actually tell me?
- How do I read contributing factors without assuming they settle fault?
- Where can I look up a contributing-factor number and check its limits?
- Does the report’s automation entry prove the vehicle was driving itself?
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Save your own evidence
Keep photos, messages and video with their original context.
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Find evidence held by someone else
Find witnesses, footage and vehicle data before evidence disappears.
7 questions in Find evidence held by someone else
- How do I find possible witnesses or video?
- What if a business refuses to give me footage?
- What vehicle or phone data should be preserved before return, reset, repair, sale or salvage?
- What does a preservation request do and not do?
- How do I act if I do not know how long records will be kept?
- What should be preserved if driver-assistance or automated-driving software was active?
- How are dashcam footage, event data and connected-car logs different?
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Request records beyond the crash report
Request officer video, 911 calls, dispatch logs and other records.
4 questions in Request records beyond the crash report
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Respond to mistakes in a report
Address factual errors, disputed fault and requests for corrections.
3 questions in Respond to mistakes in a report
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Use San Marcos and Hays County records routes
Find the right request route for local police, TXST or DPS.
4 questions in Use San Marcos and Hays County records routes
Attorney reviewed by Jacob Alford · November 11, 2026
Disclaimer
Jacob Alford, a Texas personal injury lawyer, and Injured Texan PLLC at InjuredTexan.com provide this guide for general information, not legal advice about your particular claim. You are specifically warned about the dangers of attempting to handle a claim yourself.
In Jacobsen v. Allstate, the Court described Allstate’s own internal research that being represented (having a lawyer) meant a claim typically settled for 2–3 times as much. Allstate’s own research also showed that having a lawyer could multiply a recovery perhaps up to 5 times.
The Court documented the internal workings of Allstate’s training for its adjusters and showed just how rigged talking to Big Insurance can be. Read Allstate’s script and judge for yourself: Inside the Insurance Playbook: Jacobsen v. Allstate.
A recorded statement is designed to be used against you, and a verbal settlement can give up valuable rights. Get advice before a voluntary recorded interview or accepting an offer.
You do not need to decide whether to hire a lawyer before asking questions. Jacob Alford and Injured Texan PLLC at InjuredTexan.com offer a free, no-obligation discussion of the process, even if you do not want to hire a lawyer: 210-512-2222. Before you settle, make the free call.
