Accident Reconstruction

Specialized Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team (STAR)

The Orangeburg Department of Public Specialized Traffic Accident Reconstruction Team (STAR) was established in 2004. The severity and intricacy of traffic collisions dictated the need for more intensive investigations to determine causes of collisions which involve serious injuries or death. 

The objective of the Reconstruction Team is to provide The Department of Public Safety with the means to conduct in-depth investigations and analyses of major traffic collisions within the city. Investigations include the reconstruction of a collision and a study of the factors that may have contributed to the collision. The factors include environmental, human and mechanical and are associated with the three phases of a collision which are pre-crash, at-crash and post-crash. The ultimate objective of the program is the utilization of these identified causation factors to prevent collisions of a similar nature from recurring. 

The current Reconstruction Team consists of five officers who are on call 24 hours a day. They are assigned to different shifts within the Uniform Division and respond to the scene of serious injury or fatal collisions. 

Each of these investigators have specialized training in traffic accident investigation and accident reconstruction, which consist of the physics of collision analysis and reconstruction, occupant kinematics (human factor analysis), vehicle dynamics (collision damage analysis), the use of surveying equipment, and Computer-Aided Design software. Officers also conduct detailed interviews and interrogations.