Richard “Rick” McAlister

Richard “Rick” McAlister, President, ACTAR Accredited #1488

President, ACTAR Accredited #1488 retired Maine State Police Reconstructionist with over 27 years of vehicle crash experience.

CURRENT ASSOCIATIONS / MEMBERSHIPS:

  • Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP)
  • National Association of Professional Accident Reconstructionists, Inc. (NAPARS) Elected Official
  • New York Statewide Traffic Accident Reconstruction Society, Inc., (NYSTARS)
Richard McAlister

President & Reconstructionist

Meet our team

The Crash Lab, Inc.

Our highly-trained staff of Accredited Crash Reconstructionists bring 90+ years’ combined experience

Richard “Rick” McAlister

Title: Co-Owner/President

ACTAR Accredited #1488 retired Maine State Police Crash Reconstructionist with over 34 years of experience.

Rick retired from the Maine State Police in late 2010 after 25 years of service.  During his last 11 years with that organization, Rick held the rank of Sergeant and supervised the Crash Analysis/Reconstruction Unit. During his tenure with the Maine State Police, Rick served as the principal instructor for the Maine Criminal Justice Academy’s Basic Crash Investigation and At-Scene Investigation programs.  

Rick has been a Crash Reconstruction Specialist since 1989 and became accredited by the internationally recognized Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR) in 2004. Rick is currently an elected board member (Vice President) of the National Association of Professional Accident Reconstruction Specialists (NAPARS), the world’s largest reconstruction society.  He is also a member of the Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP);  the New York Statewide Traffic Accident Reconstruction Society (NYSTARS); and the International Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists (IAARS).

In 2014, Rick became co-owner and President of The Crash Lab, Inc. Rick continues to perform crash reconstructions and investigates most commercial vehicle cases handled by The Crash Lab.

Canadian Association of Road Safety Professionals (CARSP);  the New York Statewide Traffic Accident Reconstruction Society (NYSTARS); and the International Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists (IAARS).

Patrick “Pat” Doherty

Accredited Reconstruction Specialist ACTAR #1692 with over 45 years of traffic collision investigation experience.

Pat Doherty retired as a Lieutenant from the Amherst Police Department in 2003 after 29 years of service.  Pat completed his reconstruction training in 1985 and has been an accredited accident reconstructionist by the internationally recognized Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR) since 2007.

Pat has been a certified Driver Education Instructor since January 2003.

Pat is a member of the National Association of Professional Accident Reconstructionist Specialists, Inc. (NAPARS), the New York Statewide Traffic Accident Reconstruction Society (NYSTARS), the International Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists (IAARS) and others.   He 

Pat received his FAA Remote Pilot certificate in June 2020.

Michael “Mike” Sorensen

Accredited Reconstruction Specialist ACTAR # 3279

Mike Sorensen retired from the Vermont State Police in March 2019, after 29 years of service. During his last two years with the state police, Mike was assigned to the VSP Crash Reconstruction Team as a full-time reconstructionist.  Mike completed his basic reconstruction training in 2006 and became accredited by the internationally recognized Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR) in 2017.  Mike has been a member of the National Association of Professional Accident Reconstruction Specialists, Inc. (NAPARS) since 2016.

During his tenure with the Vermont State Police, Mike served as one of the principal instructors for the Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council’s At-Scene Investigation program.  He is also one of the founding members of the VSP Crash Reconstruction Team (CRT).

Mike has attended the North America Standard Truck Inspection (NASTI) and received his FAA Remote Pilot Certificate in January 2018.

Christopher “Chris” Jacques

Accredited Reconstruction Specialist ACTAR #4223

Chris Jacques retired from the Gilford, New Hampshire Police Department in January 2023 after more than 21 years of service. In additional to his police duties, Chris was also a member of the Belknap Regional Accident Investigation Team (BRAIT) for nearly 20 years during which time he led numerous motor vehicle collision investigations. Chris became accredited by the internationally recognized Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR) in 2022. 

Chris is currently a member of National Association of Professional Accident Reconstruction Specialists, Inc. (NAPARS) and the New York Statewide Traffic Accident Reconstruction Society  (NYSTARS). 

Chris received his FAA Remote Pilot Certificate in 2021.

Ann Marie Chao

Title:  Co-Owner/Director

Ann Marie has been with The Crash Lab, Inc. since 1995 when she began working part-time as the administrative “jack of all trades” for founder Gordon “Chip” Johnston. Since that time, her responsibilities with the company have grown exponentially, and in 2014, she became co-owner of The Crash Lab, Inc. Today she oversees all aspects of the business, including client billing and case management.

Dianne Baratier

Administrative Assistant/Editor

Dianne joined The Crash Lab, Inc. in 2006 and prior to that, she worked in administrative roles for accident reconstruction firms since 1990. She is the modern day definition of a “Girl Friday” – an assistant entrusted with a wide variety of tasks – for our reconstructionists as well as our clients.