Accidents
Whether your traffic accident occurs in Wabasso or Wabasso Beach, FL, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office will have law enforcement jurisdiction. Placing a call to 9-1-1 should be first on your list. Informing the operator, as best you can, of the location and any severe injuries or hazards will aid in the urgent dispatch of appropriate first responders.
The investigating law officer will supervise the orderly attention to involved parties as urgency dictates. As ambulance, fire, tow trucks arrive, the officer takes down names, identification and insurance carriers for drivers and passengers; as well as notations of damages. They may also take witness statements if necessary and available. This compiled information will become the official Wabasso or Wabasso Beach police report and is required to be submitted to IRCSO within 10 days of the crash.
Before discussing the accident with an insurance carrier (yours or the other driver’s) a call for legal advice would be your best move. Because traffic accidents account for the largest percentage of personal injuries in the U.S., an adjuster is more likely to minimize or deny your claim. A free consultation with Hoskins, Turco, Lloyd & Lloyd brings with it the advantage of nearly 4 decades of established local personal injury practice.
As a public service to our local communities and visitors, we are proud to share this resource page for obtaining your Wabasso and Wabasso Beach police reports. Sometimes weaving through the technicalities of an accident can be overwhelming, and it is our goal to provide you with the clarity of specific steps and regulations.
First things first — Wabasso and Wabasso Beach FL are both unincorporated, census-designated places (CDPs) within the county of Indian River. On that basis, the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office (IRCSO) has jurisdiction over each of them.
Wabasso Beach is comprised of 1.2 square miles on the Atlantic coastline. It is a popular locale with 1,853 residents as of the 2010 census — an increase of 72.4% from 2000. During this same decade, the mainland population of rural Wabasso decreased by 33% to 609 residents. Remarkably, with double the land area (2.4 square miles) Wabasso is 67% less populated than Wabasso Beach.
Separated by the Indian River, your drive from Wabasso to Wabasso Beach (on North Hutchinson Island) takes only 5 minutes. Hoskins, Turco, Lloyd & Lloyd’s closest branch office is just another 15 minutes from either one of these locations.
Florida was the first state to adopt the Government-in-the-Sunshine Law in 1967, and it has become a benchmark for regulations that demand openness in both business and government. The custody and release regulations for Wabasso and Wabasso Beach police reports are a good example of how the Sunshine Law protects the rights of Floridians while improving public trust ‘through willing transparency.’
Florida Statute Section 316.066 dictates the creation, submission, supervision, and control of law enforcement official traffic crash reports. The following outline describes the 2-step defining process of Florida police reports, as they move from their confidential status to open public records.
Confidential Period – First 60 Days
The 60-day confidentiality timeline starts when a Wabasso or Wabasso Beach police report has been submitted to a law enforcement agency by the investigating officer. This custodial measure protects the privacy rights of ‘exempt parties,’ allowing time to assess the facts and implications of the report.
‘Exempt parties’ are defined as the individuals directly involved in a traffic crash, along with their legal representatives and insurance carriers; as well as the certified media. Under this section, the personal request for a police report copy requires the valid photo ID of a party listed on the report.
The agency with jurisdiction may require a sworn statement, to be witnessed by a notary or law officer for additional proof of exemption. These affidavits include the promise that any requested documents will not be used in the solicitation of accident victims, nor be disclosed to a 3rd-party for this purpose.
Public Record – After 60 Days
According to Florida Law, once the 60-day confidentiality timeline has passed, police reports become ‘public record.’ They can now be accessed by any party upon payment of the statutorily required fee of up to $10.00 per report. Public record requests for police reports do not require photo identification or sworn statements. You may access them online at the new Florida Crash Portal for an additional $2.00 transaction fee.
The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office has jurisdiction over the non-municipal areas of its county; including towns, census-designated places (CDPs) and unincorporated neighborhood communities. The exception would be if the crash occurred on the Interstate or a state road (see FHP below).
Contact information for requesting these accident police reports in person, by mail, email or phone, are provided here for your convenience:
Indian River County Sheriff
Custodian of Records
4055 41st Avenue
Vero Beach, FL 32960
Phone: (772) 978-6215
Email: [email protected]
If a traffic accident should occur on the Interstate or a state highway, the Florida Highway Patrol has jurisdiction. These law enforcement officers will often respond to surface street emergencies along the Treasure Coast due to the proximity many areas have to the freeways.
Within the confidential timeline (first 60 days), you may acquire a police report copy in person at the jurisdictional FHP office which is the closest to the accident location. After 60 days, the FHP accident police report is now public record and may be purchased online at the Florida Crash Portal.
Florida Highway Patrol
2929 N 25th Street
Fort Pierce, FL 34946
Phone: (850) 617-3416, option #1
With multiple full-service law firms along the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee, Hoskins, Turco, Lloyd & Lloyd has you covered. For nearly 40 years we have specialized in local traffic accident cases, providing in-depth experience for our communities.
This resource page has been researched with records custodians for IRCSO and is intended to provide the most accurate and thorough path to securing your Wabasso and Wabasso Beach police reports.
Call our local Vero Beach branch office now at 772-794-7774 to discuss your case with a Treasure Coast lawyer!
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