How do I get a CHP crash report after a Fontana-area collision?

The claims data lists the California Highway Patrol report request page at https://www.chp.ca.gov/traffic/request-a-crash-report/. The local process states that a CHP report is released only to a party of interest, and that the fastest route is the CHP Crash Portal; otherwise form CHP 190 can be submitted to the CHP Area office that filed the report.

What court handles a Fontana injury lawsuit?

The court listed for this page is the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. That is the trial-level court identified in the claims data for a civil case connected to a Fontana crash.

How does San Bernardino County compare with the rest of the state?

This page shows county fatal-crash data, not a statewide total. In San Bernardino County, the 2023 NHTSA FARS national file reports 360 fatal crashes and 386 fatalities. The useful local point is that Fontana residents are usually dealing with one county court and a short list of reporting agencies, not the more fragmented system found in California's largest metros.

What is the government claim deadline if a city or county vehicle was involved?

The California law data on this page shows a 6-month government claim deadline. That shorter deadline can matter if your crash involves a public vehicle or another claim against a public entity, so it is worth checking that issue before focusing only on the general 24-month personal injury deadline shown for California.

San Bernardino County

Fontana car accident claim guide

If you were hurt in a crash in Fontana, the local process is fairly contained. Your report is usually with the Fontana Police Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, or the California Highway Patrol, and a civil case would generally go through the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. The state-law rules and deadlines are shown elsewhere on this page, but the local question is usually simpler: who took the report, how do you get it, and what happens before filing.

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Local factors

How a Fontana claim usually moves from crash to filing

Start with the report. In Fontana, the investigating agency is usually the Fontana Police Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, or the California Highway Patrol. That first detail matters because California Highway Patrol reports are requested through the CHP crash report process listed at https://www.chp.ca.gov/traffic/request-a-crash-report/, while crashes on city streets are held by the local police department instead, according to the local government claim process data.

Next, confirm where any lawsuit would be filed. For a Fontana crash, the trial court listed for this page is the Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino. That single-court setup is simpler than in a large metro because you are not sorting through multiple county courts; in practice, the early work is gathering the report, medical records, bills, photos, and insurer correspondence before anything is filed there.

County crash volume gives some context. San Bernardino County recorded 386 traffic fatalities in 2023 in the NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System national file, from 360 fatal crashes. Fontana itself has a population of 218,455, so this is still a local system small enough that most readers are dealing with one city police department and one county court rather than a long list of overlapping agencies. Compared with California's biggest metros, that usually means a smaller pool of local specialists and a court system that is easier to identify from the start.

Do not let the local-government deadline slide while you sort out the report. California's government claim deadline is 6 months, and the ordinary personal injury deadline shown for California on this page is 24 months. If the at-fault vehicle was city, county, or state owned, or the road-condition issue points to a public entity, that shorter 6-month track can control your next step even before you decide whether to speak with a participating attorney licensed in California.

Your crash report

How to get your Fontana crash report

Where to request it: https://www.chp.ca.gov/traffic/request-a-crash-report/

Who responded

Agencies that respond to crashes in Fontana

Which agency attended determines who to contact about an incomplete or incorrect report.

Fontana Police Department

City police

San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department

County sheriff

California Highway Patrol

State patrol

Venue

Courts that hear San Bernardino County civil cases

Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino

General civil claims

California law

How fault is allocated in California

California follows pure comparative negligence. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault, but it is never barred entirely — even a claimant found 90% responsible recovers the remaining 10% of their damages. This is more favourable to injured people than the modified rules used in states such as Florida and Texas.

Deadlines

California filing deadlines

Missing a deadline generally ends a claim regardless of how strong it is. Government claims are on a much shorter clock than ordinary claims.

2 years

Personal injury

2 years

Wrongful death

6 months

Claim against a government agency

Reviewed 2026-07-29. Not yet reviewed by a licensed attorney. This is general information, not legal advice.

California insurance

Insurance requirements in California

Not required and not part of a standard California policy. Medical payments coverage is available as an optional add-on. Your own health insurance is usually the first payer for treatment while a liability claim is pending.

Minimum liability coverage in California is $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage. Those are legal floors rather than typical limits, and a serious injury claim often exceeds them.

Government defendants

If a government agency was involved

A CHP crash report is released only to a party of interest — a driver, passenger, pedestrian, cyclist, vehicle or property owner, parent or guardian of a minor, legal representative, or an insurer with a valid claim. The fastest route is the CHP Crash Portal at crashes.chp.ca.gov; otherwise form CHP 190 is submitted in person or by mail to the CHP Area office that filed the report. Crashes on city streets rather than state highways are held by the local police department instead.

Case types

Claims we can estimate in Fontana

Auto accident Personal injury Medical malpractice Workplace injury Product liability Wrongful death

Local questions

Fontana questions

Usually it is one of three agencies listed for Fontana: the Fontana Police Department, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, or the California Highway Patrol. If the crash happened on a city street, the local process notes that the report is held by the local police department instead of CHP.

Transparency

Sources and review dates

Every figure on this page traces to one of the sources below. Geography and population come from the U.S. Census Bureau.

U.S. Census Bureau — Fontana place GEOID 0624680, population 218,455 (2024 Population Estimates), land area 43.278 sq mi (2023 Gazetteer).
NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) 2023 national file · reviewed 2026-07-30
HIFLD Local Law Enforcement Locations, derived from the BJS Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies (2008), imagery-validated to 2018 · reviewed 2026-07-30
California Courts — Superior Courts, unified by Proposition 220 (1998) · reviewed 2026-07-30
Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 335.1 — Two-year limitations period for injury or death · reviewed 2026-07-29
Cal. Civ. Code § 1431.2 — Several liability for non-economic damages (Proposition 51) · reviewed 2026-07-29
Cal. Gov. Code § 911.2 — Six-month claim presentation deadline · reviewed 2026-07-29
Cal. Veh. Code § 16056 — Financial responsibility minimums (30/60/15 from 1 Jan 2025) · reviewed 2026-07-29
California DMV — Insurance requirements · reviewed 2026-07-29
Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.2 (as amended by AB 35) · reviewed 2026-07-29
Cal. Civ. Code § 3333.4 — Limitation on recovery of non-economic damages · reviewed 2026-07-29

About this page

State law on this page was last reviewed 2026-07-29 and has not been reviewed by a licensed attorney. It is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

Local commentary on this page was prepared 2026-07-31 and checked automatically against the sources cited on this page. It has not been individually reviewed by a person.

We do not publish attorney profiles or rankings, and nothing on this page recommends or endorses any attorney. CaseValuation.com is operated by LuxeLaw LLC, which is not a law firm.

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