TUCSON (KVOA) - The News 4 Tucson Investigators continue to hear from several Tucson drivers who are struggling having to wait for accident reports from the Tucson Police Department, which is facing a months-long backlog.
One woman who doesn't want us using her identity told us she was involved in a crash last month and getting few answers about when she will receive her collision report from TPD.
“I don’t feel like it’s acceptable at all," she said.
She said she wasn't at fault in the accident, her car heavily damaged, she was also injured. The lack of a report has left her without insurance assistance.
“I was injured and we have been unable to receive medical care or be compensated for our vehicle because of a lack of the auto accident report," she said.
In April the N4T Investigators brought the issue to light after speaking with a driver named Manuel Bonarand, who was involved in an accident in October 2022, he had to wait over six months to receive his report.
“I was told it’s a three month backlog, I went back in December and was told it’s a three month backlog," he explained.
It took him going and speaking at an April Tucson City Council meeting to receive his report. He received it two days after the meeting.
“It was a way to brush me aside. I think the real issue is fixing the problem," he said.
The N4T Investigators got answers from City Manager Michael Ortega, who said the issues are mainly due to a staffing shortage within TPD's Records Department which could be a result of low wages and a larger than normal work load.
Ortega told the N4T Investigators on April 19th the City has been working on fixing the problems for about a year and he expected a resolution soon. Expecting some changes to take place as early as 30 days.
“That is a top priority for Chief Kasmar and myself. We will continue to push hard to get that in place now to relieve some of those backlogs we have," Ortega said.
The N4T Investigators reached out to Ortega again last week to get an update on what's been done but we haven't heard back. We also reached out to TPD requesting to know what if any steps Chief Kasmar has taken to address the issues since our last investigation but we did not hear back.
The woman we spoke to told us she feels major changes need to be made fast so driver's like her don't need to suffer for no fault of their own.
“I just think that they need to streamline their departments and maybe process for accident reports," she said.
