What to Do After a Car Accident in Claremont
By Alexander D. Napolin, Esq. | Last reviewed November 9, 2026
Short answer: After a crash that injures someone other than the driver, or kills anyone, the driver must stop at the scene immediately (Veh. Code, § 20001, subd. (a)), give information and reasonable help (Veh. Code, § 20003, subd. (a)), and, unless the vehicle is a common carrier vehicle, make, or cause to be made, a written report within 24 hours to the Highway Patrol or, within a city, the city police (Veh. Code, § 20008, subd. (a)).
What must I do at the scene of a crash?
Call 911 if anyone is hurt. Claremont's own procedures are not covered here because I did not read them (see the heading on Claremont's police department below).
If the crash injured a person other than the driver, or killed a person, the driver “shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident” (Veh. Code, § 20001, subd. (a)). In a crash that injures or kills any person, each driver must give “his or her name, current residence address, the names and current residence addresses of any occupant of the driver's vehicle injured in the accident, the registration number of the vehicle he or she is driving, and the name and current residence address of the owner” to the person struck or the driver or occupants of any vehicle collided with, and to any traffic or police officer at the scene (Veh. Code, § 20003, subd. (a)). The driver must also give reasonable assistance to anyone injured, “including transporting, or making arrangements for transporting, any injured person to a physician, surgeon, or hospital for medical or surgical treatment if it is apparent that treatment is necessary or if that transportation is requested by any injured person” (same subdivision). On request, a driver must show a driver's license, if available, to the person struck or to the driver or occupants of any vehicle collided with, and to any traffic or police officer at the scene (Veh. Code, § 20003, subd. (b)). If a person died and no traffic or police officer is at the scene to receive the information, the driver must also, “without delay,” report the accident to the nearest office of the California Highway Patrol or of a duly authorized police authority and submit the same information with the report (Veh. Code, § 20004).
If the crash damaged only property, including vehicles, the driver must immediately stop at the nearest location that will not impede traffic or otherwise jeopardize the safety of other motorists. The driver must also immediately do one of two things. One is to locate and notify the owner or person in charge of the property of the name and address of the driver and of the vehicle's owner, and, if asked, present a driver's license and vehicle registration to the other driver, property owner or person in charge; the information presented must include the current residence address of the driver and of the registered owner. The other is to leave in a conspicuous place on the vehicle or other damaged property a written notice giving the name and address of the driver and of the owner of the vehicle involved and a statement of the circumstances, and, “without unnecessary delay,” notify “the police department of the city wherein the collision occurred or, if the collision occurred in unincorporated territory, the local headquarters of the Department of the California Highway Patrol” (Veh. Code, § 20002, subd. (a)).
Take photographs of the vehicles, the road and any signals or signs, and write down the names and phone numbers of witnesses. Check your own insurance policy for when you must tell your insurance company about a crash; I did not read any policy or insurer rule for this article.
Who must I report the crash to, and when?
Two reports apply in many crashes with an injury. Check both. (Veh. Code, § 20002 also calls for a notice to the police in some property-damage-only crashes, described above.)
The written report to law enforcement. The driver of a vehicle, other than a common carrier vehicle, in an accident that injures or kills any person “shall within 24 hours after the accident make or cause to be made a written report of the accident to the Department of the California Highway Patrol or, if the accident occurred within a city, to either the Department of the California Highway Patrol or the police department of the city in which the accident occurred” (Veh. Code, § 20008, subd. (a)). If the agency that receives the report is not the one responsible for investigating, it must immediately forward the report to the law enforcement agency that is (same subdivision). I did not read a source that says which streets and roads lie inside Claremont's city limits, so if you are unsure which agency applies, the statute lets you report to the Highway Patrol. The owner or driver of a common carrier vehicle involved in an accident that injures or kills any person “shall make a like report to the Department of California Highway Patrol on or before the 10th day of the month following the accident” (Veh. Code, § 20008, subd. (b)).
The report to the DMV. A driver of a motor vehicle in a crash on a street or highway that damaged the property of any one person by more than $1,000, or caused bodily injury or death, “shall report the accident, within 10 days after the accident,” on a form approved by the department (Veh. Code, § 16000, subd. (a)). In Division 7 of the Vehicle Code, where section 16000 sits, “department” means the Department of Motor Vehicles (Veh. Code, § 290). A DMV report “is not required under subdivision (a) if the motor vehicle involved in the accident was owned or leased by, or under the direction of, the United States, this state, another state, or a local agency” (Veh. Code, § 16000, subd. (b)). This article does not cover reportable off-highway accidents.
How do I get a copy of the crash report?
The agency that took the report must disclose its entire contents “to any person who may have a proper interest therein,” a group the statute says includes “the driver or drivers involved,” “the authorized representative of a driver,” “any named person injured therein,” “the owners of vehicles or property damaged thereby,” and “any attorney who declares under penalty of perjury that he or she represents any of the above persons.” The statute's list is not limited to these; it also names a driver's guardian or conservator, the parent of a minor driver, and “persons who may incur civil liability” (Veh. Code, § 20012). A request for a copy “shall be accompanied by payment of a fee, provided such fee shall not exceed the actual cost of providing the copy” (same section). The statute does not say how to submit a request, so ask the agency that took the report. If you do not know which one it was, ask the officer at the scene for a report number and the agency's name.
How long do I have to make a claim or sue?
For an injury, the general time to sue is two years: “Within two years: An action for assault, battery, or injury to, or for the death of, an individual caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another” (Code Civ. Proc., § 335.1). If a city, county, state agency or other public entity may be responsible for the crash, a shorter deadline can apply to a claim against that public entity: a claim relating to death or injury to a person or to personal property must be presented “not later than six months after the accrual of the cause of action” (Gov. Code, § 911.2, subd. (a)). With exceptions the section names, a suit for money or damages against a public entity on a cause of action that requires a claim cannot be brought until a written claim has been presented to the entity and acted on or deemed rejected (Gov. Code, § 945.4). This article does not say when a public entity is responsible for a crash or how a claim is presented. I explain these periods, and what this article leaves out, in California Car Accident Time Limits: Suing and Claims and, for a crash at a signal, in Someone Ran a Red Light and Hit Me in California: What Now?.
What does Claremont's own police department require?
I did not read the City of Claremont's procedures for requesting a crash report, its fees, its hours or its phone numbers, and this article states none of them. Check the City of Claremont's own website, or call the police department, before you go in person. If you were hurt, a lawyer can help you gather the report and the other records.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to report a crash to the DMV?
Yes, if you were the driver of a motor vehicle and the crash on a street or highway damaged the property of any one person by more than $1,000, or caused bodily injury or death. The report is due “within 10 days after the accident” (Veh. Code, § 16000, subd. (a)). A report is not required if the vehicle involved was owned or leased by, or under the direction of, the United States, this state, another state, or a local agency (subd. (b)).
Is the written report to the Highway Patrol or police the same as the DMV report?
No. They are two reports under two sections. Section 20008 requires the driver of a vehicle other than a common carrier vehicle to make, or cause to be made, a written report to law enforcement within 24 hours when a person is injured or killed (Veh. Code, § 20008, subd. (a)). Section 16000 requires a report to the DMV within 10 days when a crash on a street or highway meets the damage or injury thresholds, unless the vehicle was a government vehicle as the section describes (Veh. Code, § 16000, subds. (a), (b)).
Who can get a copy of the crash report?
Any person who may have a proper interest, which the statute says includes, among others, the drivers, a driver's authorized representative, a person named as injured, the owners of damaged vehicles or property, and an attorney who declares under penalty of perjury that the attorney represents any of the persons the section lists (Veh. Code, § 20012). A request for a copy must be accompanied by payment of a fee, and the fee cannot exceed the actual cost of providing the copy (same section).
Sources
- Veh. Code, §§ 20001, 20002, 20003, 20004, 20008 and 20012, read November 9, 2026, in the Legislature's bulk data (code store archive of November 9, 2026). Veh. Code, §§ 290 and 16000, read November 7, 2026, in the archive of November 2, 2026.
- Code Civ. Proc., § 335.1, and Gov. Code, §§ 911.2 and 945.4, read November 7, 2026, in the archive of November 2, 2026.
ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT. This article is for general information purposes only and describes California law as of the “Last reviewed” date above. Nothing in it should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation; every situation turns on its own facts. This article is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.
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NAPOLIN APC | Accident & Injury Lawyer, Alexander D. Napolin, Esq., 269 West Bonita Avenue, Claremont, California 91711
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