Crash course: Police recreate accidents for training

BERKELEY COUNTY, SC (WCSC) - The Southeastern Collision Reconstruction Conference started off Monday with a bang. Law enforcement and crash data specialists from all over the United States and Canada came in town to learn critical skills used to recreate accidents.

"They use this information when they are investigating crashes. When they're the first ones on the scene its important they know those first steps to take," said Lt. Ricky Dixon with the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Remote controls were used to control the speed and direction of the cars. Out of the three crashes Monday, most were at speeds between 40 and 50 miles per hour.

"It's like playing with toy cars, except for big kids," said Brad Muir, a crash data specialist.

The attendees will take the information they've learned from the crashes and take them to the classroom so they can learn to recreate a crash from start to finish.

"We use GPS systems, accelerometers, interior and exterior cameras to document every move in the crash," said Muir.

The conference happens every year in Charleston and over half of the attendees are law enforcement.