The Summit Metro Crash Response Team (SMCRT) is Summit County's first and only multi-jurisdictional crash investigation team. Investigators are assembled from 17 police agencies throughout Summit County and includes Hudson, Peninsula, Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn, Barberton, Richfield, Macedonia, Boston Township, Boston Heights, Norton, Silver Lake, Stow, Summit County Metro Parks, Twinsburg, Uniontown, and Streetsboro.
The Unit is divided into three response teams that rotate on-call every week. Crash Investigators receive high levels of training throughout Ohio and in surrounding states. SMCRT also has six Level IV+ Advanced Reconstructionists, a certified SAE Mechanic, and an ACTAR Certified Reconstructionist with international credentials. Specialty areas include advanced training in Vehicle Dynamics, Momentum Analysis, Vector Sum Analysis, Crush Energy Deformation, Pedestrian Impacts, Commercial Vehicles, Motorcycles, Occupant Kinematics, Lamp and Tire Analysis, Crash Data Recorder analysis, Evidence Collection and Court Room Testimony. The team utilizes cutting-edge technology and software to analyze, reconstruct, and animate crash scenes.
The Unit is investigative only and does not initiate any enforcement action. Investigators support and advise the requesting agency as to the causes and factors involved in the crash and can provide an agency with a professional scientific analysis and reconstruction of a serious crash. Participation in the Unit serves to multiply our resources in a crash emergency, both in terms of manpower as well as equipment which is shared among the participating agencies. This assures a quick and professional response in an emergency and expert investigation all while saving individual municipalities thousands of dollars annually.
