Dickinson Towing · Dickinson, ND · Updated July 2026

What to Do After a Car Accident in Dickinson, ND

The seconds after a crash are a blur. Your heart is pounding, glass may be on the road, and you are trying to think clearly while traffic keeps moving past you on Villard Street or the I-94 on-ramp. Whether it was a fender-bender at a stoplight downtown or a harder hit out near Exit 61, what you do in the next few minutes protects your safety, your health, and your insurance claim. This guide walks Dickinson drivers through exactly what to do after a car accident, step by step, and explains where a licensed, 24/7 tow fits into the picture.

Dickinson sees its share of collisions. Winter ice on ND-22, gravel-dusted county roads in Stark County, deer along US-85, and the steady oilfield traffic on I-94 all add up. Knowing the right sequence ahead of time means you will not have to figure it out under stress. Keep this page bookmarked, and keep our number, (615) 241-0232, saved in your phone for the moment you need a flatbed on scene.

First: Stop, Breathe, and Check for Injuries

Before anything else, stay stopped. Leaving the scene of an accident, even a minor one, is a serious offense in North Dakota. Take one slow breath and check yourself, then your passengers, for injuries. Adrenaline hides pain, so move slowly and notice anything that feels off — neck stiffness, dizziness, or numbness all deserve attention.

If anyone is hurt, or you are not sure, call 911 immediately. Do not try to move a person who is injured unless there is an active danger like fire or fuel. For serious crashes in the Dickinson area, emergency crews and CHI St. Alexius Health are close, and getting help on the way fast matters more than anything else on this list.

Move to Safety and Warn Other Drivers

Once you know everyone is okay, think about position. If your vehicles are drivable and you are stopped in a live lane — say the middle of Third Avenue or a busy stretch of I-94 — pull onto the shoulder or into a nearby lot so you are not a second collision waiting to happen. If a car is too damaged to move, is leaking fluid, or anyone is injured, leave it exactly where it is.

Turn on your hazard lights right away. If you have flares or reflective triangles, set them out behind the scene, especially at night or in the blowing snow that Stark County drivers know all too well. Get yourself and any passengers to a safe spot away from traffic — behind a guardrail or well off the roadway — while you wait.

Call the Police and File a Report

Even for a minor accident, calling the Dickinson Police Department or the Stark County Sheriff is almost always the right move. North Dakota requires you to report any crash involving injury, death, or roughly $4,000 or more in property damage, but the officer's report does far more than satisfy the law. It creates a neutral record of what happened, which your insurance company will lean on when it decides fault and pays claims.

When the officer arrives, stick to the facts. Describe what you saw without guessing or admitting fault, because who is responsible is a determination for the police and insurers to make, not something to settle at the roadside. Ask for the report number before you leave, and write down the responding officer's name. The federal safety agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), recommends keeping a basic accident checklist in your glovebox for exactly this reason.

Document the Scene and Exchange Information

Your phone is the best tool you have right now. Take wide shots that show the whole scene and how the vehicles came to rest, then close-ups of every dent, scrape, and broken light on both cars. Photograph license plates, the other driver's insurance card, and any street signs or landmarks that fix the location — the Exit 59 sign, a cross street, or the entrance to a parking lot.

Exchange names, phone numbers, driver's license numbers, plate numbers, and insurance details with the other driver. If anyone witnessed the crash, politely ask for a name and number; an independent witness can settle a fault dispute quickly. Jot down the time, the weather, and road conditions while they are fresh, because "there was black ice on ND-22" is a detail you will not remember clearly by tomorrow.

When and Why to Have Your Car Towed

Not every accident ends in a tow, but many should. If your car has frame damage, a leaking radiator or oil pan, deployed airbags, a wheel that no longer points straight, or fluid pooling under it, driving away can cause far more expensive damage — or leave you stranded on the shoulder a few miles later. When in doubt, get it towed.

This is where a flatbed matters. After a collision, a flatbed (rather than a wheel-lift or a rushed hook-and-chain) keeps a damaged vehicle fully off the ground, so a bent axle or broken suspension does not get dragged and worsened on the way to the shop. Our operators are DOT compliant, licensed and insured, and trained in accident recovery, including careful winch-out work when a car has slid into a ditch off a county road. If your vehicle is scattered across a lane, we can also help clear it so traffic can move again. Learn more on our services page, where accident towing and roadside recovery are listed in detail.

From our base in Dickinson we typically reach crash scenes across Stark County and ZIP 58601 in about 30 to 45 minutes, and we serve the surrounding communities too — Belfield, Gladstone, Richardton, South Heart, New England, Medora, and Taylor. Because we run 24/7, it does not matter if your accident happens at 2 a.m. on I-94 or during the evening rush downtown.

Choosing an Accident Towing Company in Dickinson

After a crash you have the right to choose who tows your vehicle — you are not obligated to go with whoever a dispatcher randomly sends, and you should not be pressured into a shop you did not pick. Look for a local company that is upfront about rates, clearly licensed and insured, and able to give you a real arrival window rather than a vague "sometime soon."

A good accident tow does more than move metal. The operator will secure loose parts, sweep debris out of the lane when it is safe, protect your car with a flatbed, and drop it exactly where you want it — your preferred body shop, your home, or a storage lot. That is the standard we hold ourselves to on every call, and it is why Dickinson drivers keep our number saved before they ever need it.