What the police report says matters, but it is not the whole case. What usually matters more is the evidence that disappears first: photos, video, witness names, vehicle data, and phone records.

1. Get the report now, but do not stop there. If Myrtle Beach Police responded, request the collision report from the Myrtle Beach Police Department. If it happened on US 17, SC 31, or another highway and the South Carolina Highway Patrol handled it, the report will run through SCDPS/SCDMV channels. Keep the FR-10 insurance form too. The report gives the basics, but it may miss pain, traffic-camera angles, or what a fleet driver told a supervisor after the wreck.

2. Save every photo and video today. Back up phone photos, dashcam clips, and any surveillance footage from nearby hotels, gas stations, or businesses. In Myrtle Beach, beach-area businesses often overwrite video fast - sometimes in 24 to 72 hours. If this involved a company truck or work vehicle, ask for the vehicle number, employer name, and any ELD/GPS or onboard camera data before it gets recycled.

3. Lock down witness information before people vanish. Write down names, phone numbers, and what each person saw. A short text in their own words helps. Tourists leave town; construction crews move to the next site; memories get cleaned up by insurance calls.

4. Preserve your own records. Save ER papers, urgent care notes, prescriptions, work-miss records, towing bills, and repair estimates. During tax season, those medical and wage documents suddenly matter a lot. If you were hit while working roadside, keep employer texts, shift logs, and any incident report.

5. Move fast on phone and electronic records. Cell carriers and apps do not hold everything forever. If distracted driving is an issue, time matters. The same goes for dashcams that loop over old footage - a quiet little disaster.

6. Know the big deadline, but act before that. South Carolina's general lawsuit deadline for most injury crashes is 3 years, but evidence can disappear in days. Under South Carolina's modified comparative negligence rule, proof of who did what can directly affect whether you recover anything at all.