In the effort to enhance on-the-scene investigations of severe traffic incidents, two Elizabethton Police Department officers have dedicated an impressive 240 hours each to complete Certified Crash Reconstructionist training – a move designed to bolster their department's effectiveness in dissecting the anatomy of road mishaps. According to the City of Elizabethton's recent news release, this rigorous educational pursuit was undertaken by Corporal Mike Ward and Patrolman Hayden Holtsclaw, who've now joined the ranks of their department’s Special Traffic Accident Reconstruction.
The STAR team at the Elizabethton Police Department includes experts like Traffic Sergeant Doug Combs and Training Corporal Wayne Pritchard. Officers Patrol Corporal James Deese and Patrol Corporal Jason Mosier are also training in crash reconstruction, a specialized field that helps accurately investigate serious traffic incidents, as reported by the City of Elizabethton.
Holtsclaw works in the traffic unit, while Ward has multiple roles—he’s in the patrol division, teaches Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and provides training on patrol stop strategies. Their experience in traffic duties makes them well-suited for their new roles as crash reconstructionists, helping them accurately piece together events in traffic accidents to ensure justice, as per the City of Elizabethton.
The Tennessee Highway Safety Office provides intense training to officers like Ward and Holtsclaw, teaching them skills to analyze skid marks, vehicle damage, and crash scenes. These skills help them piece together what happened in accidents, whether they involve just property damage or worse, human injuries. For more information on the Elizabethton Police Department's Special Traffic Accident Reconstruction team and the Certified Crash Reconstructionist training, interested readers can find further details at the City of Elizabethton's official announcement.
