RECORDS

Download Public Information Request Form

PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS

Kristina Vega, Director of Administrative Services/City Secretary
City Hall
820 St. Joseph Street
Gonzales, TX 78629
Office: 830-672-2815
Fax: 830-672-2813
email: citysecretary@gonzales.texas.gov

Rights of Requestor

You have the right to:

Prompt access to information that is not confidential or otherwise protected;
Received treatment equal to all requestors, including accommodation in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements;
Receive certain kinds of information without exceptions, like the voting of public officials, and other information;
Receive a written statement of estimated charges, when charges will exceed $40, in advance of work being started and opportunity to modify the request in response to the itemized statement;
Choose whether to inspect the requested information (most often at no charge), receive copies of the information or both;
A waiver or reduction of charges if the governmental body determines that access to the information primarily benefits the general public;
Receive a copy of the communication from the governmental body asking the Office of the Attorney General for a ruling on whether the information can be withheld under one of the accepted exceptions, or if the communication discloses the requested information, a redacted copy;
Lodge a written complaint about overcharges for public information with the Office of the Attorney General. Complaints of other possible violations may be filed with the county or district attorney of the county where the governmental body, other than a state agency, is located. If the complaint is against the county or district attorney, the complaint must be filed with the Office of the Attorney General.

Procedures to Obtain Information

Submit a request by mail, fax, e-mail or in person according to a governmental body’s reasonable procedures.
Include enough description and detail about the information requested to enable the governmental body to accurately identify and locate the information requested.
Cooperate with the governmental body’s reasonable efforts to clarify the type or amount of information requested.

Driver's Crash Reports

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is the custodian of crash records for the State of Texas. Texas Transportation Code §550.062 requires any law enforcement officer who in the regular course of duty investigates a motor vehicle crash that results in injury to or the death of a person or damage to the property of any one person to the apparent extent of $1,000 or more, to submit a written report of that crash to TxDOT no later than the 10th day after the date of the crash.

TxDOT collects crash reports from every law enforcement agency in Texas and for crashes that occur on any public roadway in Texas, not just crashes occurring on the state highway system. The state retention schedule for crash reports and data are 10 years plus the current year. The current retention schedule effective in 2015 contains only five previous years plus the current year. Data for years beyond this period is not available. Each year TxDOT will continue to add one year to the retention schedule until the 10-year retention schedule is met.

TxDOT also collects Driver's Crash Reports (CR-2) (Blue Form). Texas Transportation Code §550.061 requires the operator of a vehicle involved in a crash to make a written report of the crash if the crash is not investigated by a law enforcement officer and the crash resulted in injury to or the death of a person or damage to the property of any one person to an apparent extent of $1,000 or more. The Blue Form needs to be filed with the vehicle owner's insurance company.

The Texas Department of Public Safety collects crash reports submitted by law enforcement officers. Both are available to the public at the links below. These forms can be submitted for a processing fee through the Texas DPS site:

Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report: This report is completed by a law enforcement officer investigating a traffic crash when apparent damage is $1,000 or more, or when the crash resulted in injury or death.
Hit and Run Report: Email the police officer to request the other driver's information (if possible).

You can now order crash reports online at the link below:

https://cris.dot.state.tx.us/public/Purchase/app/home

To download copies of reports, you will need internet access and a credit card to purchase. To search for an accident report, simply enter the date of accident and last name. * DO NOT USE THE REPORT NUMBER.

FEES

Accident Reports are not available through the Gonzales Police Department Records Department. The reports must be purchased through either Crash Records Information System (CRIS).