Accident files have been constructed and studied throughout the country in an attempt to provide law enforcement officials, safety organizations, policy makers, and industry with greater knowledge about the causes of these transportation system failures. Recently, Southwest Research Institute collected an extensive data file of 5, 324 accidents (out of approximately 15, 000 in a six month period) in the San Antonio, Bexar County metropolitan area. The data collected pertained primarily to vehicle damage and occupant injury, although certain other collision sequence data were needed to accomplish the program objectives. To test the adequacy of its variables and codes, an attempt was made to reconstruct a narrative description of an accident from a random sample of the SwRI coded accidents. The reconstruction was successful in demonstrating the suitability of the automated data file, but other problems were encountered and are discussed. Preliminary characteristics of the file are presented.