Hit by a Police Car in Atlanta: What to Do
If a police vehicle hit you and no one gave you insurance information at the scene, here is what to do next.
Getting hit by a police car is disorienting in a way that a normal wreck is not. The people you would ordinarily call for help are the same people involved in the crash. Officers show up, an ambulance shows up, someone hands you a piece of paper, and everyone tells you it will “all be on the report.” Then everybody leaves, and you are standing there with no name, no insurance card, and no idea whether you are even allowed to make a claim.
If that is where you are right now, here is the most important thing to understand: you do not have to wait for anything. You can pick up the phone today.
You Do Not Have to Wait for the Report to Come Out
A lot of people assume that until the official report is finalized, there is nothing to be done. That assumption costs people evidence. The report is one document. It is not the case.
The days right after a wreck are when the most useful information is still available — vehicle damage that has not been repaired yet, witnesses who still remember what they saw, video that has not been recorded over, and your own memory while it is still sharp. Waiting weeks for a piece of paper to arrive in the mail does nothing to protect any of that.
If your crash happened two days ago, that is not too late. That is early, and early is good. Call as soon as you can.
Not Getting Insurance Information at the Scene Is Not Fatal
You may have asked whether the other driver had insurance and gotten a yes, then walked away without a single detail written down. That happens constantly, especially when the other vehicle is a government vehicle and everyone at the scene tells you the paperwork will handle it.
It is not a reason to give up on your claim. The identity of the vehicle, the agency it belongs to, and the coverage behind it can all be run down after the fact. That is legwork, and it is the kind of legwork a lawyer does for you. What you should not do is treat a missing insurance card as proof you have no case.
Write Down What You Remember While It Is Fresh
Before anything blurs, put down on paper what happened. Where you were going. What lane you were in. What the other vehicle did. Who spoke to you at the scene and what they told you. Whether the ambulance came, what they checked, and whether they took you anywhere.
If the ambulance came and did not transport you to the ER, note that too. That detail will come up later, and it is better handled honestly and early than explained away months down the road.
Get Checked Out Even If You Were Not Transported
Declining a ride to the hospital in the middle of a chaotic scene is understandable. Adrenaline masks a lot, and most people just want to get home. But not being transported is not the same as not being hurt.
If you are sore, stiff, headachy, or just not right in the days afterward, get seen. Do it soon rather than “when it gets worse.” A medical record created close in time to the wreck is far more valuable than one created after weeks of toughing it out — both for your health and for anyone later evaluating what the crash did to you.
Being New to This Is Not a Weakness
If you have never been hit before, you have no reason to know how any of this works. There is nothing embarrassing about that. The people on the other side of your claim do this every single day, and they are not confused about what to do next. That imbalance is exactly why you make the call.
Claims involving government vehicles have their own procedures and their own people to deal with, which is one more reason not to try to feel your way through it alone. Talk to someone who handles these cases, tell them exactly what you remember, and let them start chasing down the information nobody handed you at the scene.
The Move Right Now
You were hit. It was not your fault. Nobody gave you the other driver’s information. That is not a dead end — it is a starting point. Call, get your version of events on record, get your injuries documented, and let someone else fight over the paperwork.
Full Transcript
I was involved in an accident with the police.
Okay.
This was like two days ago, but I didn’t know what direction to go because I’ve never been hit before.
I’m assuming it wasn’t your fault, right?
Oh, absolutely, yeah. It was not my fault.
Okay.
I asked them if they have insurance, and they were like, yeah, but I didn’t get none of the information. Then when the police came and the ambulance came, they, I mean, the ambulance didn’t take me to the ER or nothing. Long story short, they didn’t give me his information, they didn’t give me his insurance information. They were like, oh, it’s all going to be on the pollution.
Correct.
They gave me a piece of paper.
That’s right.
So I thought I couldn’t do anything or call anybody until…
Oh, no, no, you can call ASAP, bro, ASAP.
Yeah, man, my lack of experience, man.
It’s okay.
I’m sorry, man.
No, it’s okay. It’s okay.
Yeah, he said, reach out to you. I’ve been doing this in high school.
Okay, yeah.
I know about both his cases with you.
Hey, yeah. Hey, we did good for you, boy.
Yeah.