Case Report of a Mutilating, Fatal Hit-and-Run Accident

Abstract

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INTRODUCTION Hit-and-run crashes are a relatively infrequent but a severe offense worldwide because the identification and emergency rescue of victims is delayed, which increases the injury severities and the mortality rate, The outcome depends on the offending driver, the vehicular and environmental conditions, the road characteristics and crash information. Driver’s tendency to leave the crash scene without reporting an accident is higher at night, involve a heavy vehicle and when alcohol is involved. Therefore, medico-legal issues of severe mutilation following fatal hitand-run accident is discussed. CASE REPORT A 40year old man became a victim of a fatal hit-and-run accident while riding his bicycle at night. He succumbed to his injuries at the scene. At autopsy, the skull had been crushed across the transverse diameter and the brain had been completely expelled. The body had been nearly separated into two halves just above the buttocks. Stretch lacerations were found at the right inguinal fold. There were no tire imprints on the body or clothes. Police found the offending vehicle a few kilometers away as it had stopped due to a flat tire. It was a SUV being driven by a son of a politician. CONCLUSION a The pattern of injuries is compatible with a hit-and-run by a vehicle traveling at a high speed. In this case the victim may have been thrown forward by the primary impact which co-relates to the large injury on the back and then ran over the head. Extensive mutilation of the body may create contusion during the postmortem examination of a victim of a hit-and-run. However, it is important to identify all the injuries and reconstruct the incident to understand the mechanism of death.