A T-bone or side-impact crash can occur at a signal, stop sign, uncontrolled intersection, driveway, parking-lot aisle, median opening, or left-turn path. The side-contact description is only the starting point. The event should be reconstructed from the traffic-control state, vehicle paths, timing, visibility, physical evidence, electronic records, witness accounts, and the condition of each vehicle.

A T-bone damage pattern identifies a side contact, but it does not by itself establish which signal was displayed, which vehicle entered first, whether a turn or yield duty applied, or how the occupants were injured.

Map the intersection and each vehicle path

  • Road names, jurisdiction, lane count, lane use, turn lanes, medians, shoulders, crosswalks, stop lines, driveways, grades, curves, and approach directions
  • Traffic signals, arrows, stop or yield signs, flashing indications, pavement markings, visibility, lighting, weather, vegetation, construction, parked vehicles, and other obstructions
  • Each vehicle’s approach, intended movement, lane, stop location, acceleration, braking, steering, turn path, point of contact, rotation, and final position
  • Witness vantage point, observation duration, obstruction, signal face observed, time reference, later discussions, and uncertainty
  • Photographs, video, controller records, 911 and dispatch material, crash report, vehicle data, damage surfaces, debris, marks, and repair or salvage status

Apply the right-of-way and turning rules to supported facts

North Carolina G.S. 20-155 addresses right-of-way when vehicles approach or enter an intersection at approximately the same time, left turns across approaching traffic, pedestrians in specified crossings, and traffic circles. G.S. 20-154 addresses starting, stopping, turning from a direct line, safety, and required signaling. Identify the exact movement and factual predicates before applying a provision; a side impact does not select the governing rule by itself.

Identify the traffic-control state and jurisdiction

G.S. 20-158 addresses stop signs, steady red, yellow, and green signals, flashing signals, and stop position. Record the signal face controlling each approach, phase or indication alleged, turn arrow, pedestrian phase, timing plan, detector operation, event or maintenance records, outage or malfunction reports, work history, and the state or local agency responsible for the device. Do not infer a malfunction merely because accounts conflict.

Preserve timing and visibility evidence quickly

  • Business, residence, traffic, transit, dash-camera, doorbell, vehicle, or phone video and its native file, timestamp basis, frame rate, duration, and custodian
  • Signal timing sheets, phase sequence, controller or detector data, maintenance and complaint records, power or communication events, and changes after the crash
  • Sun position, darkness, precipitation, road surface, glare, headlights, sign or signal visibility, temporary traffic control, and sight-distance photographs from each approach
  • Driver perception, reaction, braking, throttle, steering, speed, seat-belt, air-bag, and event data when lawfully available and technically interpretable
  • Vehicle storage, repair, salvage, scan, download, inspection, custody, and any change in condition

Use the DMV-349 as an index, not a final finding

The current North Carolina DMV-349 Instructional Manual explains fields for vehicle movement, contributing circumstances, sequence of events, roadway and traffic control, diagram, narrative, occupants, safety equipment, injury status, and other crash information. Compare every relevant code and diagram entry with the narrative and source evidence. A report field can identify a follow-up question without resolving civil responsibility, medical causation, or admissibility.

Separate impact geometry from responsibility

Document the first contact areas, damage height and direction, crush, intrusion, glazing, tire or wheel evidence, undercarriage contact, paint or material transfer, debris, marks, rotations, and final positions. Then test alternative vehicle paths and timing against the physical and electronic record. The struck side, greater damage, or post-impact rotation may be informative, but none automatically proves a signal violation, speed, avoidability, or fault.

Build a separate occupant and medical record

Record seating position, belt use, air-bag deployment, intrusion, head or body contact, ejection or entrapment, immediate condition, symptom onset, evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, restrictions, prior conditions, and later events. A collision-mechanics opinion and a medical-causation opinion answer different questions and require appropriate qualifications and source records.

Reconcile competing accounts without forcing agreement

Place each driver and witness account beside signal data, video, timestamps, vehicle evidence, photographs, report fields, and known uncertainties. Distinguish what the person observed from what was assumed or learned later. Preserve contradictions and missing time references; do not rewrite an account to fit the damage pattern.

The related traffic-signal timing records guide explains phase plans, controller and detector data, maintenance records, video synchronization, and jurisdiction questions in more detail.

Rosensteel Fleishman Car Accident & Injury Lawyers provides information about Charlotte T-bone and intersection car-accident claims. The analysis should preserve the event evidence and keep responsibility, medical causation, damages, coverage, and procedure as separate questions.

Sources