Stan Bezuidenhout is a Forensic Collision Homicide Reconstructionist with technical forensic experience at over 7,500 accident scenes locally and abroad. Jackie Smith has the same experience by numbers, but as the "softer one" she has interviewed tens of thousands of accident victims and witnesses for the past ten years. Together, they own a registered Close Corporation - IBF Investigations cc.
IBF Investigations is a 24-hour At-scene Forensic Accident Investigation and Reconstruction Entity. As a typical example, we would be called by a client, and then we would respond "to the scene." We go to the scenes of collisions, while the carnage is still very much a reality - we stand in the blood and debris. In our understanding, there is no road traffic accident that will not potentially end up in court.
Whether people go to court, or not, we will always investigate the scene of an accident as if the involved parties will end up there. We gather "all the evidence" every time. On many scenes, we have taken as many as over 1,000 photographs before being satisfied with our record of the scene. After this, we would typically record all the versions of all witnesses, involved parties and drivers - in detail.
By using a deposition-style interviewing method, resting heavily on psychological truth-verification technologies, we know how to extrapolate all the relevant data every time. We don't just ask people to "tell us a story" and then write that down verbatim.
With the information gathered, we would then compile a final investigation or reconstruction report for submission in legal matters. Often, these reports have been used in trials in civil, municipal, high- and legal court matters. In many of the cases, settlement is reached even before we testify. When the report is completed, the contents cover elements like case details, involved parties, weather and environmental elements, engineering or road design, vehicle mechanics, law enforcement, human factors, speed analysis, light analysis, etc. When we reconstruct an accident, we cover all the elements every time. We leaving nothing to chance. Some has indicated that Occam's Razor should be applied (all unnecessary facts excluded), but we are never in a position to predict what facts will and will not become relevant later.
When we produce our final reports, our clients receive copies of all our photographs and documents on a DVD disk and a printed copy of our report for submission to their insurance, legal representatives or internal systems. We aim to provide a comprehensive report that can address all possible requirements every time.
When we testify in any trial or hearing, we use the latest technologies to display, illustrate, demonstrate or present out findings in lay terms - in terms that the courts can easily understand and interpret. We do not try to see how technical or advanced we can be and we certainly do not try to stamp out our superiority. We stick to the facts, illustrate them effectively, prove them consistently and we never generate assumption-based or untruthful reports or findings. Our integrity and accuracy have become legendary.
At the scene of accidents, we are able to secure the crime scene, identify and isolate evidence, gather the evidence, record (photograph, measure and/or video-record) all the relevant evidence and provide assistance to South African Police Service (SAPS), METRO Police, Traffic and Law Enforcement entities.
Where necessary, we are able to produce highly accurate 3D Models of accident scenes and/or vehicles using anything from 3D Animation Software to Photogrammetry and even 3D Laser Measurements. We prefer to bring the scene of a collision to court by recording any conceivable aspect, considering every possible element of possible contribution, and reproducing every scene in as much detail as technically possible. We use the latest technologies available to us and we are constantly innovating additional processes, technologies, techniques and systems to ensure that we gather "all the evidence."
