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Teresa speaks out The controversy that won’t die given added life
By Stephen Thomas, CNNSI.com LAS VEGAS -- A subdued Teresa Earnhardt presented herself to the media Sunday for the first time since her husband's death two weeks ago in order to read a statement designed to put to rest the continuing controversy surrounding Dale Earnhardt's death. So Mrs. Earnhardt hoped. The unfortunate irony, at least as far as the family and NASCAR might be concerned, is that her statement, while effective and eminently understandable, will likely only lead to further speculation about the exact nature and cause of The Intimidator's death. Joined on the dais by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and accompanied by DEI drivers Michael Waltrip and Steve Park, Mrs. Earnhardt pleaded both with the media and with the public to consider the family before even considering or allowing her husband's autopsy photos to be released. The Orlando Sentinel has been the leader of an effort to have medical experts view the photos in an attempt to either determine or otherwise eliminate likely or unlikely causes of Earnhardt's death following a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. Judge Joseph Will has issued a temporary injunction. He said the photos have no "bona fide newsworthiness" and could cause the family "additional anguish and grief." Under Florida's public records law, autopsy reports and photographs are public record unless they are part of an active criminal investigation. A hearing on whether to make the injunction permanent was originally set for last Thursday but was postponed for one week because of a scheduling conflict. In an article Sunday, Tim Franklin, a Sentinel editor, said the newspaper wanted the photos so a head trauma expert could make an independent determination of the cause of death. Sentinel attorney David Bralow has said the newspaper has no desire to cause Teresa Earnhardt more pain. The Sentinel's editors have said they have no intention of publishing the photos. However, "if these photos will help elucidate the nature of what exactly went wrong or what happened to Dale Earnhardt, then the public is served," Bralow said. NASCAR has hired a consultant and is investigating the death. A broken left lap belt was found on the floor of the battered Chevrolet after the accident and could have been responsible for Earnhardt's death. "We can't believe and are saddened that anyone would invade our privacy during this time of grief," an emotional Mrs. Earnhardt read. "I want to let you know that if access to the photos is allowed, others will demand them too. And make no mistake, sooner or later the photos will end up unprotected and published ... and most certainly on the Internet. "We are thankful to the Florida court," she continued, "which has denied access to the private photos for the time being. We hope it will order that these images remain where they belong -- in the medical examiner's confidential records. Ensuring that the media or others cannot violate Dale's dignity and our family's privacy will make the healing process possibly less painful." Indeed, unfettered access to those macabre photos would clearly be a disaster of stunning proportions both to the Earnhardt family and the DEI organization. However, according to sources for the Sentinel, the paper proposes that the photos be viewed by qualified experts under the very strict observance of designated Florida authorities. In other words, according to the Sentinel, the paper has no desire to publish or otherwise take advantage of the photos; the paper is simply interested in perhaps reaching a definitive conclusion to the mystery surrounding the exact cause of death.
By preventing qualified experts from viewing those photos, the state of Florida and the Earnhardt family thereby lessen the probability that NASCAR and its drivers will ever know definitively whether or not Dale Earnhardt Sr. was the fourth driver in nine months to die as a result of basal skull fracture. "Releasing the pictures will serve only to violate the privacy of our family and the integrity of Dale's legacy," Mrs. Earnhardt read.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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