When a serious automobile accident shuts down the interstate in Nashville, you may wonder just what exactly is happening. Most of the time, the accident scene is being investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol’s Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) Unit.

The CIRT Unit assists in investigating and reconstructing automobile accidents. Members of the CIRT Unit have had training in auto accident investigation including motocycle accidents and pedestrian accidents. There are four teams covering the State of Tennessee. The CIRT Unit investigates both accidents that are being worked by the Highway Patrol and accidents being investigated by local and federal law enforcement agencies. CIRT also investigates all of the criminal homicides that arise from autombile accidents investigated by the Highway Patrol. The CIRT Unit investigates several hundered automobile accidents every year.

So, the next time you wonder why the interstate has been closed following an auto accident around Nashville, it may well be that members of the CIRT Unit are collecting data regarding the accident for the Highway Patrol’s investigation.