excited utterance

An excited utterance is a statement made by someone while they are under the influence of a strong emotion, such as shock, fear, or surprise, and about something that caused that feeling. Because the person is still emotionally affected, their words are considered more believable and are allowed as evidence in court to help clarify what happened. The idea is that people tend not to have enough rational control when intensely emotional, so their statement is more likely to truthfully reflect what they experienced or witnessed at that moment.