That tourist who saw your Flagstaff crash can still be found

Crash scene near the interstate in Flagstaff where a private investigator looks for witnesses

Flagstaff is where Interstate 40 meets Interstate 17, with Grand Canyon traffic on top. On a busy day a lot of the drivers in town live somewhere else. If you were hit and the one person who saw it clearly was a visitor who gave the officer a phone number and drove north, it can feel as if your best evidence just left the state.

Often it hasn't. Witnesses who were passing through can usually be found, as long as nobody waits too long. Here is what you can do yourself, where a private investigator fits, and what to watch out for. This is general information, not legal advice.

Why one witness can matter so much

After a crash, the two drivers often remember it differently. Photos of the damage do not always show who drifted out of a lane or who ran the light. An independent witness, someone with nothing to gain, can carry real weight with an insurance adjuster or a judge.

Two things work against you. Memories fade within weeks. And people get harder to reach as phone numbers change and they stop answering unknown calls. The first days count more than the next six months.

What you can do this week

Get the crash report

The report usually lists witnesses with whatever contact details they gave at the scene. Which agency has it depends on where the crash happened. The Arizona Department of Public Safety keeps reports for crashes its troopers investigated on an interstate or state highway, so a crash on I-40 or I-17 is probably theirs. DPS says crashes on city, town or county roads are kept by the agency that investigated, which around Flagstaff usually means city police or the Coconino County Sheriff.

DPS takes requests through its Public Services Portal. It says a person involved in the crash, a vehicle owner, or their representative can ask for the unredacted report, which is the version that shows witness names and numbers.

Write down everything you remember

Do it today. Other cars and their plates, what people wore, what they said, which direction they went. "A woman in a red SUV with Colorado plates who said she was heading to the canyon" sounds hopeless, but with a time and a place it narrows things a lot.

Think about cameras

Gas stations, motels and shops near the scene may have cameras pointed at the road. Many keep footage only for a short time before it records over itself. Note any you saw and tell your lawyer quickly, so a request to preserve the footage can go out before it is gone.

Talk to your lawyer or insurer

Give them all of the above and ask one question: should someone start looking for this witness now?

When a private investigator helps

If the report has a witness's name but the phone number is dead, or you only have a description, a licensed private investigator can often find the person. Private investigators in Arizona are licensed by the Department of Public Safety, and locating witnesses is ordinary work for them. If the witness lives in another state, the private investigator may call first or work with someone licensed there.

What you get back should be simple: whether the witness was found, how to reach them, and a written account of what they say they saw, including any parts that do not help you. A statement that only contains the good bits is easy to attack later.

What it may cost

Locating someone from a name and an old number can be quick. Working from a description takes longer. Ask for a fixed price for a first search, and agree in writing before more hours are added. Ask whether the price includes an interview and a written statement.

What they will not do

A licensed private investigator will not pretend to be police or an insurance company, will not hack a phone or an account, and will not put a tracker on anyone's car. Arizona's stalking statute, A.R.S. 13-2923, treats unauthorised electronic tracking of a person as stalking conduct in some circumstances. Methods like those would also make the witness's account worthless. Nobody can be forced to give a private interview, either. If testimony is needed later, your lawyer can use the court's subpoena process.

Keep the deadline in view

Under A.R.S. 12-542, a lawsuit for injuries to a person generally has to be filed within two years, with some exceptions. Insurance claims have their own deadlines too. A witness search can run alongside negotiations, but do not let it eat into that two years. Ask your lawyer which deadline applies to you.

If a private investigator calls you about a crash you saw

Maybe you are the visitor. If someone calls about a crash you witnessed in Flagstaff, you can ask who they work for and check their licence on the DPS Public Services Portal. You do not have to talk to them, and you can ask for questions in writing. If you do talk, say only what you saw, and ask for a copy of any statement before you sign it.

Finding help in Flagstaff

Our Flagstaff private investigators page lists private investigators in the city, each a member of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators (AALPI). For crashes elsewhere in the region, see the Northern Arizona private investigators page. Our guide on what a private investigator does covers the general limits, and the Flagstaff town page has more local guides.

If you only do one thing today, write down the businesses near the scene that might have cameras. Footage can be overwritten within days.

See the board: everyone in Flagstaff.