Citation

Muggenthaler H, Drobnik S, Hubig M, Fiebig W, Mall G. Forensic Sci. Med. Pathol. 2017; 13(2): 230-233.

Affiliation

Institute of Legal Medicine, Jena University Hospital - Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Am Klinikum 1, 07747, Jena, Germany.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s12024-017-9866-5

PMID

28409387

Abstract

Fatal bicycle-pedestrian collisions do not occur frequently and thus are rarely reported in literature. Pedestrians in bicycle-pedestrian accidents often sustain severe craniocerebral injuries caused by a collision induced fall with head impact on the road surface. We describe a case where a pedestrian crossing a road was hit by a bicycle. Hematomas of the left lower leg and of the left flank/abdomen were found to be caused by the primary impact. However, the fatal injuries were found to be contralateral with a rupture of the right renal pedicle, a rupture of the right lobe of the liver and a tear of the vena cava. Neither the bicycle impact nor a fall onto the road surface could cause these injuries. Multibody simulation (PC Crash 9.2) revealed entanglement between the bicyclist and the pedestrian followed by a contact interaction between the pedestrian laying on the road surface and the falling bicyclist. In forensic case work post-crash contact interactions between the bicyclist and the pedestrian should be considered as a potential source of severe injuries.

Language: en

Keywords

Bicycle-pedestrian-collision; Multibody simulation; Reconstruction