Any memorandum, sketch, chart, written statement, report or photograph obtained, prepared or created by the Division of State Police within the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection in the investigation of any accident wherein any person has been injured or property damaged shall be preserved and retained for a period of at least ten years from the date of such accident. Subsequent to the final disposition of any criminal action arising out of an accident, the records specified in this section and the information contained in such records shall be open to public inspection, except that such records shall be available to any person involved in the accident subsequent to the issuance of a warrant or summons in such action or not later than thirty days after such accident, whichever is earlier. The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection may deny access to such records for a period longer than thirty days if such access would compromise an ongoing criminal investigation.

(P.A. 97-12; P.A. 11-31, S. 1; 11-51, S. 134.)

History: P.A. 11-31 added provisions allowing a person involved in an accident access to the accident records not later than 30 days after the accident and allowing department to deny access for longer than 30 days if an ongoing criminal investigation would be compromised, and made technical changes; pursuant to P.A. 11-51, “Department of Public Safety” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection”, effective July 1, 2011.