Lying on the Road Before Being Run Over: Vehicular Manslaughter, Suicide, or Accident? Two Case Reports and Literature Review.
autopsy
forensic pathology
hit-and-run
pedestrian fatalities
psychological autopsy
road accident reconstruction
run over
Journal
Journal of forensic sciences
ISSN: 1556-4029
Titre abrégé: J Forensic Sci
Pays: United States
ID NLM: 0375370
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Nov 2020
Nov 2020
Historique:
received:
29
03
2020
revised:
09
06
2020
revised:
26
05
2020
accepted:
10
06
2020
pubmed:
1
7
2020
medline:
4
5
2021
entrez:
1
7
2020
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
We present two apparent hit-and-run cases where two women were run over. The vehicles involved were subsequently traced and their owners charged with manslaughter. Autopsy evidence, scientific investigation of the scene and circumstances of the deaths, technical inspection of the vehicles, and DNA analysis strongly suggested that both victims were lying on the road before the accident. Case 1 was a suicide. In Case 2, the victim had fallen to the ground following acute alcohol intoxication. Victimological analysis was pivotal in reconstructing the dynamics of the events. We suggest that a hit-and-run fatality should not be regarded as a manslaughter case until each piece of evidence has been carefully considered. We also propose an interdisciplinary method of reconstructing run over occurrences based on the following three steps: (i) identify whether there was a primary impact when the victim was in an upright position; (ii) identify victim drug/alcohol intoxication and/or presence of acute or chronic disease or injury, which may have contributed to the impact; and (iii) consider suicide intent.
Identifiants
pubmed: 32602997
doi: 10.1111/1556-4029.14500
doi:
Types de publication
Case Reports
Journal Article
Review
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
2170-2173Informations de copyright
© 2020 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
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