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Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology
Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology 1/2018

01-03-2018 | Images in Forensics

Unusual accidental decapitation in a road traffic incident

Authors: Amalia Angelino, Peter Thiis Knudsen, Peter Mygind Leth

Published in: Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Decapitation is an occurrence only rarely encountered in forensic medical practice. This fatality is generally most often described in pedestrians who have been run over by trains accidently or in cases of suicide, or alternatively in occupants of cars involved in high speed vehicle collisions. We report, for the first time, a case of a complete decapitation of a pedestrian as a consequence of a traffic accident. Due to a thorough medico-legal investigation of the body and the involved vehicle, we were able to reconstruct the unique dynamics of the accident and the mechanism of injury.
Literature
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Byard RW, Gilbert JD. Characteristic features of deaths due to decapitation. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2004;25:129–30.CrossRefPubMed
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Cina SJ, Koelpin JL, Nichols CA, et al. A decade of train-pedestrian fatalities: the Charleston experience. J Forensic Sci. 1994;39:668–73.PubMed
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De Giorgio F, Polacco M, et al. Death due to railway-related suicidal decapitation: a case report. Med Sci Law. 2006;46:347–8.CrossRefPubMed
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Zoja R, Battistini A, Gentile G. Death with complete decapitation: report of four suicides by train. Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2009;30:303–6.CrossRefPubMed
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Nerger E, Bayer R, Gärtner T, et al. Traffic accident or dumping? – Striking results of a traffic accident reconstruction. Leg Med (Tokyo). 2017;24:63–6.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
Unusual accidental decapitation in a road traffic incident
Authors
Amalia Angelino
Peter Thiis Knudsen
Peter Mygind Leth
Publication date
01-03-2018
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Forensic Science, Medicine and Pathology / Issue 1/2018
Print ISSN: 1547-769X
Electronic ISSN: 1556-2891
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-017-9935-9

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