3749 - Reports by coroners and medical examiners.
§ 3749. Reports by coroners and medical examiners. (a) General rule.--Every coroner or medical examiner in this Commonwealth shall report in writing to the department within five days of certification the death of any person resulting from a vehicle accident, giving the time and place of accident and the circumstances relating thereto. These reports shall be made on forms prepared by the department. Every coroner or medical examiner shall retain a copy of the reports in his office for a period of two years. (b) Blood and urine samples.--The coroners or medical examiners of each county in this Commonwealth shall take blood or urine samples or both from the bodies of all drivers and of all pedestrians over 15 years of age who die within four hours following an accident and shall, within ten days of the accident, transmit the samples to the Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse. This subsection shall be applicable to all occupants over 15 years of age if the driver of the vehicle cannot be determined. (c) Regulations for testing samples.--The Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse shall establish and promulgate rules and regulations for the testing of the blood and urine samples authorized to be taken from dead bodies under this section. Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse. The Governor's Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse is now known as the Pennsylvania Advisory Council on Drug and Alcohol Abuse and is designated as the advisory council to the Department of Health for drug and alcohol programs. See section 3 of the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.221, No.63), known as the Pennsylvania Drug and Alcohol Abuse Control Act.