A car accident in Bellaire is reported to the Bellaire Police Department, handled under Texas traffic law and, for a lawsuit, heard in the Harris County civil courts. The driver must stop, give information and report the crash, the official crash report is bought from the state, and a suit for injuries usually must be brought within two years. A personal injury lawyer can request the report, gather evidence and deal with insurers while those deadlines run.
The short version
- Police: Bellaire Police Department at 5110 Jessamine Street; non-emergency line 713-668-0487; dial 911 in an emergency.
- Crash report: sold by the Texas Department of Transportation for $6, or $8 for the certified version.
- Tickets: the Bellaire Municipal Court, at the same Jessamine Street address. Injury suits are civil cases heard in the Harris County civil courts at law at 201 Caroline Street, Houston.
- Clock: the usual cutoff for an injury suit is two years from accrual, under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003(a).
- Fault: a claimant more than half responsible gets no damages, under § 33.001.
What does Texas law require right after a crash in Bellaire?
The driver must pull over at the scene, or as near to it as is possible, find out whether anyone was hurt, and stay until the exchange of information is complete. Not stopping when the law requires it is an offense, and where a death results it is a felony of the second degree.
Under Tex. Transp. Code § 550.021(a), a driver in a crash that causes injury or death, or that is reasonably likely to do so, has to pull over at the site or as near it as possible, see whether anyone needs aid, and remain at the scene until the § 550.023 steps are complete. Subsection (c) makes failing to do so an offense, and the offense is a second-degree felony when someone dies.
Section 550.023 obliges the driver to share identifying details with anyone hurt and with the people in any other vehicle in the crash, namely the driver’s name and address, the car’s plate number and the name of its liability insurer. A license must be shown if it is asked for and available. Where treatment is evidently needed, or the hurt person asks for it, the driver also has to arrange transport to a doctor or hospital. Nothing about these steps changes in Bellaire compared with the rest of Texas. Our checklist of early steps after a crash walks through what follows.
Which police department takes the report in Bellaire?
The Bellaire Police Department handles a crash inside city limits. A crash involving death or injury, or one that leaves a vehicle unsafe to drive, must be phoned in to that local department without delay, by the quickest means of communication available.
Under Tex. Transp. Code § 550.026(a)(1), the driver carries the notice duty, and it runs to the local police department when the crash happens inside a municipality. The city’s police page gives the department’s address as 5110 Jessamine Street, Bellaire, TX 77401, its non-emergency line as 713-668-0487, and 911 for emergencies. The City Hall contact block lists 713-668-0487 as the after-hours number.
Where the crash happens determines the agency. Under § 550.026(a)(2), a crash that happens not more than 100 feet beyond a city’s boundary goes to the nearby police department or the county sheriff’s office. Our guide to Pearland and Friendswood covers the neighboring suburbs.
How do I get a copy of a Bellaire crash report?
The state sells the report through TxDOT, at $6 for a plain copy or $8 for a certified one, and online orders come by email. Only people directly concerned in the crash, or with a legitimate interest in it, are entitled to the report.
The TxDOT crash reports page sets out the two prices. The certified copy is for cases where an official document is needed, for example a legal proceeding. The page also warns that card payments can carry extra processing fees, and that the online system adds “a minimal surcharge.” Online buyers receive the file by email.
Section 550.065(c)(4) of the Transportation Code requires the report to be handed over, on written request and payment of the fee, to people directly tied to the crash or with a proper interest in it. That group includes the owner of damaged property and an insurer that wrote a policy on a vehicle in the crash. The officer’s own report has a separate deadline: under § 550.062(b), it must be filed electronically with the department within 10 days of the collision. Our guide to requesting the report step by step covers the request.
Where would a Bellaire ticket or injury lawsuit be heard?
A ticket written in Bellaire is heard by the Bellaire Municipal Court, at 5110 Jessamine Street. An injury lawsuit is a civil case, and the Harris County civil courts at law sit at 201 Caroline Street, Houston.
According to the city, its Municipal Court handles traffic citations, Class C misdemeanors and ordinance violations within the city limits. It sits at the same Jessamine Street address as the police department, and its phone number is 713-662-8105. Court is generally held weekly: jury trials on Tuesday mornings, arraignment dockets on Tuesday evenings, and judge-only trials on Wednesday afternoons. Fines and fees can be paid at the court or through the city’s online portal.
The county’s civil courts at law page gives the address as 201 Caroline, Houston, TX 77002. Our article on the insurance claim stage covers the choices made before any suit is filed.
| Step | Where it goes | Contact or fee | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Report an injury or unsafe-to-drive crash | Bellaire Police Department, 5110 Jessamine Street | 713-668-0487 non-emergency; 911 emergency | City of Bellaire police page |
| Order the crash report | Texas Department of Transportation online purchase | $6 regular; $8 certified; minimal online surcharge | TxDOT crash reports |
| A ticket from a Bellaire officer | Bellaire Municipal Court, 5110 Jessamine Street | 713-662-8105 | City of Bellaire municipal court |
| An injury lawsuit | Harris County civil courts at law, 201 Caroline Street, Houston | Filed when the suit is brought | Harris County civil courts at law |
Read 2026-10-16. Phone numbers and fees should be confirmed with the agency before a visit.
How do fault and the filing deadline work in a Bellaire crash?
Fault is measured in percentages, and a claimant whose share is more than half is barred from recovering damages. Texas gives an injured person two years from accrual to bring a personal injury suit, and claims against a governmental unit also carry a six-month notice requirement.
Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001 bars recovery where the claimant’s responsibility exceeds 50 percent. Where some recovery is still allowed, § 33.012(a) cuts the award by the claimant’s own share. Those rules are the same for a crash in Bellaire as anywhere else in the state.
For an injured person in Bellaire, the filing clock is the one in Section 16.003(a): suit within two years of accrual. Under § 101.101(a), a governmental unit is due notice of a claim under that chapter within six months of the incident. Our timeline article explains how long a case runs once it is open, and the comparative fault article covers how the percentages are argued.
What does Texas say about distracted driving in a Bellaire crash?
Reading, writing or sending an electronic message behind the wheel is an offense in Texas unless the vehicle is stopped. TxDOT’s 2024 crash facts count 380 people killed in crashes involving distracted driving across the state.
Under Tex. Transp. Code § 545.4251(b), a driver who uses a portable wireless device to compose, read or send an electronic message commits an offense unless the vehicle is stopped. A prosecution needs the conduct to have occurred in a peace officer’s presence or view, or to be proved by other evidence.
The TxDOT crash facts for calendar year 2024 state: “In 2024, there were 380 people killed in crashes involving distracted driving. This is an 5.71% decrease from 2023.” Those are statewide figures from the crash reports that had been processed by April 9, 2025, and they are not a count of Bellaire crashes. Our article on distracted driving in Houston covers that subject locally, and our practice page on distracted driving crashes describes the practice.
What do local reports show about a crash involving Bellaire police?
On Friday, April 4, 2025, ABC13 reported that a Bellaire police officer suffered a minor head injury when a suspected DWI driver hit the officer’s patrol car on the West Loop South. The driver was taken into custody and charged with DWI.
According to the ABC13 report, the officer was helping a motorist who had run out of gas at about 1:30 a.m. when a Ford van struck the patrol unit. The Bellaire Police Department said officers believed the van driver was intoxicated. The article places the crash on the West Loop South and does not place it inside Bellaire. Our page on claims after a drunk-driving crash covers the claims that can follow.
A news story is not the crash report. The officer’s written report must be filed electronically within 10 days of the collision under § 550.062(b), and it is released as described above. Our article on why witnesses are important covers witness evidence, and our guide to photographs after a crash covers what to capture at the scene. Our separate article on motorcycle accidents in Bellaire covers helmet and lane rules.
What if the driver who hit me leaves the scene?
Report the crash to the police department for the city where it happened, and write down what you can about the other vehicle. A driver who leaves a crash involving injury or death without stopping, as the statute requires, commits an offense under § 550.021(c).
The stop and report duties in §§ 550.021 and 550.026 bind the driver who left, not the injured person. Our Houston hit-and-run article and our piece on police reports and insurance after a hit-and-run cover the evidence questions. If the other driver cannot be identified, our uninsured-motorist explainer is the page to read on that subject.
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a minor car accident?
Not every collision leads to a claim. Before deciding, it helps to have the crash report, the medical picture and any insurance offer reviewed, and the first consultation is free.
Is it worth getting an attorney for a car accident?
It depends on the injuries, the fault dispute and the insurance involved.
Do I need to hire a lawyer after a car accident?
Whether a lawyer is useful depends on the injuries, the crash report, the available insurance and whether fault is disputed. The first consultation is free.
What does a car accident lawyer charge?
Many injury lawyers are paid a share of the recovery instead of an hourly rate, so ask any lawyer how the fee is set before you sign.
What work does a car accident lawyer do?
A lawyer representing a person involved in the crash can request the crash report as that person’s authorized representative under Transportation Code § 550.065(c)(4)(B). The rest of the work on a claim depends on the facts of the case.
How soon should I hire a car accident lawyer?
Deadlines keep running, so an early consultation leaves more time to act. The two-year suit period under § 16.003(a) runs from accrual, while the six-month notice period under § 101.101(a) for a governmental unit runs from the date the incident occurred.
Maida Law Firm has one office, in southwest Houston at 8313 Southwest Freeway, and serves Bellaire from there. Bellaire sits inside Harris County, so a crash claim runs through the same Houston courts as one from any other part of the county. The next step is to line up the report number, the treating providers and the insurer letters; the Houston car accident page and the car accident FAQ cover the claim process, and the overview of personal injury claims in Houston lists the other claim types. If the other driver left the scene, the hit and run page applies, and for drunk-driving numbers the Texas DWI statistics article has them. A crash that happened in Sugar Land belongs on the Sugar Land page instead; questions go through the contact page.
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
State Bar of TexasAvvoMartindale-HubbellLawLinkThatCarHitMeLinkedIn
Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.