What should I do immediately after a car accident in Bexar County?

Call 911 — for a crash within San Antonio, the San Antonio Police Department responds; on the highways and interstates (I-35, Loop 410, Loop 1604, I-10), the Texas Department of Public Safety may respond; and in unincorporated areas, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office. Move vehicles out of traffic if they're drivable and it's safe, since I-35 and the loop system carry heavy, fast traffic. Texas law requires you to stop and exchange information, and leaving the scene of an injury crash is a serious offense. Photograph everything before vehicles are moved — positions, damage, license plates, and the scene — and get the other driver's name, license, insurance, and contact information, plus any witnesses. Make sure a crash report is generated; the officer prepares a Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (CR-3), which you'll need for your claim and can later obtain through the agency or the Texas DOT Crash Records Information System (CRIS). Seek medical evaluation within a day or two even if you feel only sore — some injuries surface later, and a treatment gap gives insurers a reason to dispute the claim. If a commercial truck or a government vehicle was involved, note the details, since truck cases and Texas Tort Claims Act claims (with the City's 90-day notice deadline) have special, time-sensitive requirements.

The other driver has no insurance or too little. What can I do in Texas?

This is a common problem in Texas, which has a significant uninsured-driver rate. Your best protection is your own uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage. Under Texas law, insurers must offer UM/UIM coverage, and you can only reject it in writing — so check your policy, because if you didn't sign a written rejection, you may have it even if you don't remember buying it. UM coverage pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance (or flees and can't be identified in a hit-and-run with contact); UIM coverage pays the difference when the at-fault driver's liability limits (often just the Texas 30/60/25 minimums under Tex. Transp. Code §601.072) are too low to cover your damages, up to your own UIM limit. Texas UIM claims have particular procedural wrinkles — an insurer generally doesn't owe UIM benefits until the insured's legal entitlement and the amount of damages are established, which sometimes requires a lawsuit against your own insurer — so these claims benefit from experienced handling. Personal Injury Protection (PIP), also offered and rejectable only in writing, separately pays your medical bills and lost wages up to the policy limit regardless of fault. Reporting the claim promptly and preserving evidence of the other driver's lack of coverage is important.

I was hit by an 18-wheeler on I-35 or near the Eagle Ford oilfields. How is a truck accident claim different?

Truck crashes are a serious issue in Bexar County given the I-35 freight corridor between the border and Austin/Dallas and the heavy oilfield truck traffic from the Eagle Ford Shale to the south. These cases differ from ordinary car wrecks because commercial trucks are governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (49 C.F.R. §390 et seq.), which set hours-of-service limits to prevent fatigued driving, driver-qualification and drug-testing requirements, and vehicle inspection and maintenance standards. A violation — a driver over hours, poorly maintained brakes, an overloaded or improperly secured trailer — can establish negligence and often points to liability beyond the driver: the motor carrier (for negligent hiring, training, supervision, or maintenance, or under respondeat superior), a freight broker, a shipper, or a maintenance contractor may all share responsibility, typically with far higher insurance limits than a personal auto policy. The critical early step is preserving evidence: the truck's electronic logging device (ELD) data, the driver's logs and qualification file, the company's maintenance records, and any dashcam footage — much of which can be overwritten under normal retention practices within weeks. A written litigation-hold/preservation demand should go out immediately, so consulting an attorney experienced in Texas truck litigation quickly is important.

How do I get a copy of my Bexar County crash report?

The Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (form CR-3) is prepared by the responding agency and is the key document for your insurance claim. Which agency has it depends on where the crash occurred: the San Antonio Police Department for crashes within city limits, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) for many highway and interstate crashes, and the Bexar County Sheriff's Office for unincorporated areas. You can typically obtain the report a few days to a couple of weeks after the crash. Two main routes: request it directly from the responding agency's records unit, or use the Texas Department of Transportation's Crash Records Information System (CRIS) online purchase system, which provides certified and non-certified copies of CR-3 reports statewide. You'll generally need the crash date, location, and the names of those involved to locate the report. The report contains the officer's diagnosis of contributing factors and any citations, which insurers rely on heavily — though the officer's fault assessment is not legally binding and can be contested with other evidence. Separately, keep in mind Texas's two-year statute of limitations (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003) for any injury lawsuit, and the much shorter government-claim notice deadlines if a public vehicle was involved.

A rideshare driver hit me in San Antonio. Whose insurance applies?

Rideshare crashes are common around downtown San Antonio, the River Walk, and the entertainment districts. Coverage depends on what the driver was doing at the moment of the crash. If the app was off, only the driver's personal auto policy applies — and many personal policies exclude commercial rideshare use, creating a coverage gap. If the app was on but the driver hadn't yet accepted a ride, Texas law and the transportation network company (TNC) provide contingent liability coverage at lower limits. Once the driver has accepted a ride or has a passenger in the car, the TNC's $1 million commercial liability policy generally applies. As an injured third party — another driver, a passenger, or a pedestrian — you can claim against whichever coverage applies to the driver's trip phase at the time. Establishing the exact phase often requires the rideshare company's trip and GPS records, which Uber and Lyft maintain and which can be obtained through the claims process or, if necessary, a lawsuit and subpoena. Because these cases involve determining coverage layers and dealing with large insurers, and because Texas's two-year statute of limitations applies, documenting the ride details (screenshots, trip receipts) and consulting an attorney early helps preserve your claim.

Car Accidents in Bexar County, Texas

Sorting out car accidents in Bexar County, Texas: insurance leverage, police report path, and what turns local fastest

A place-specific car accidents guide for Bexar County, Texas that clarifies the local sequence that prevents avoidable drift, notice flow, and the practical route readers usually face first.

Reviewed January 2026 3 min read Official-source grounded Ver en Espanol En Español

Key Takeaways

Texas is an at-fault state; minimum liability is 30/60/25 (Tex. Transp. Code §601.072) — often inadequate for serious injuries
UM/UIM and PIP coverage must be offered and can only be rejected in writing — check your policy; UM/UIM is vital given Texas’s uninsured-driver rate
I-35 freight and Eagle Ford oilfield truck traffic drive many truck crashes governed by federal motor carrier rules (49 C.F.R. §390) — preserve ELD/logs early
The Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Report (CR-3) is available from SAPD, DPS, or the Sheriff, or via the TxDOT CRIS system
Government-vehicle crashes trigger the Texas Tort Claims Act — the City of San Antonio requires written notice within 90 days
Two-year statute of limitations (§16.003) applies; rideshare coverage rises to $1M once a ride is accepted or a passenger is aboard

Photo by Karl Solano on Pexels

Car accidents in Bexar County play out on one of the busiest and most congested highway networks in Texas. Interstate 35 runs through the heart of San Antonio on the way from the border to Austin and Dallas, carrying heavy commercial-truck traffic; Loop 410 and Loop 1604 ring the city; I-10, I-37, US-281, and Highway 90 fill out the system; and the "malfunction junction" interchanges where these highways meet see frequent collisions. San Antonio's rapid growth and sprawling geography mean long commutes and high crash volumes. Texas is an at-fault (tort) state for auto accidents, so the driver who caused the crash — and that driver's liability insurance — is generally responsible for the damages, subject to Texas's modified comparative responsibility rules (the 51% bar under Chapter 33 of the Civil Practice and Remedies Code).

Texas requires drivers to carry minimum liability insurance of $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage (the "30/60/25" minimums under Tex. Transp. Code §601.072) — higher than some states but still often inadequate for a serious injury, where a single trauma admission at University Hospital or a Methodist or Baptist Health System facility can exceed the limits. Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage on your own policy fills that gap, and in Texas it must be offered and can only be rejected in writing — an important protection given that a significant share of Texas drivers are uninsured. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage, also offered and rejectable only in writing, provides no-fault payment of medical bills and lost wages up to the policy limit regardless of who caused the crash.

Commercial-truck crashes are a major concern in Bexar County given the I-35 freight corridor and the Eagle Ford Shale oilfield traffic to the south, which brings heavy trucks and tanker vehicles through the region. These crashes are governed by federal motor carrier safety regulations (49 C.F.R. §390 et seq.) — hours-of-service limits, driver-qualification files, and maintenance records — and the trucking company, a freight broker, and a cargo loader may all share liability alongside the driver, typically with much higher insurance limits than a personal auto policy. Preserving the truck's electronic logging device (ELD) data, driver logs, and maintenance records with a prompt written preservation demand is critical, because that evidence can be overwritten within weeks.

After a crash, Texas law requires drivers to file a report in certain circumstances, and the responding agency — the San Antonio Police Department within the city, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office in unincorporated areas, or the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) on the highways — prepares the Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (CR-3), which is central evidence for an insurance claim and can be obtained through the agency or the Texas DOT Crash Records Information System (CRIS). If a government vehicle (a City of San Antonio or VIA vehicle) was involved, the Texas Tort Claims Act's short notice deadlines apply — the City requires notice within 90 days.

The two-year statute of limitations (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code §16.003) applies to auto injury claims. Rideshare crashes are common in the tourist and entertainment districts around downtown and the River Walk; coverage depends on the driver's trip phase, running from lower contingent limits when the app is on with no ride matched up to $1 million in commercial coverage once a ride is accepted or a passenger is aboard, and identifying the phase often requires the rideshare company's trip data. The San Antonio Bar Association LawReferral Service (210-227-1853) can connect crash victims with attorneys, and most Bexar County car accident lawyers work on a contingency fee.

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