The most important reason for having a specialized traffic crash investigation unit is to assure a thorough and professional investigation of serious injury or fatal traffic crashes.

Some area police departments in Summit County have invested thousands of dollars and many hours in training their personnel to properly investigate these serious crashes. This training and the skills needed to properly investigate traffic crashes are highly advanced and need to be practiced routinely to maintain proficiency. Additionally, few police departments can afford the proper equipment or have the number of serious crashes that will maintain the significant investment in they have made in their crash investigators.

In 2004, crash investigators from several area police agencies began meeting and planning ways to share knowledge, hone skills, maintain training and share resources. Today, this goal is being realized in the Summit Metro Crash Response Team (SMcRT).

Participation in this unit is voluntary and participating agencies reap the benefit of a wide range of resources in both equipment and personnel that would be otherwise unavailable. Those who have trained crash investigators, maintain their agency’s investment in training; those who don’t yet have a crash investigator have ready access to train officers and to call professional investigators to the scene 24/7.

Certainly, not every crash needs to be followed up by an in-depth investigation or review much less a complete reconstruction. However, with the resources of the State Highway Patrol already stretched thin and the public demand for timely and complete investigations, there are times when our team is the one to call.

We respond 24/7 anywhere in Summit County for fatal and serious injury crashes,
crashes involving public safety vehicles in emergency response (police, fire, EMS, etc),
commercial vehicle, motorcycle, OVI, pedestrian and atypical circumstances.

SMcRT will be on scene generally within an hour of the call.Our pooled resources allow us to provide:

Stow Safety Center

3800 Darrow Road
Stow, Ohio 44224

Phone: (330) 689-5700

Fax: (330) 689-5799

 

 

Jeff Lyle - Administrative Commander

Brian Battaglia - Operations Commander

Rob Molody - Asst. Operations Commander

 

 

Team #1    Brian Battaglia (Hudson PD)

Team #2    Robert Gilbert (Richfield PD)

 

 

Chuck Veppert (Ohio State Highway Patrol) (ret.)

Dann Nivens (Silver Lake PD) (active)

Jonathan Bastock (Stow PD) (active)

Bob Brinkley (Fairlawn PD) (active)

Steve Brown (Bath PD) (active)