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Excerpts from Earnhardt crash report
ATLANTA (AP) -- Excerpts from the 15-page summary of NASCAR's investigation of the death of Dale Earnhardt at the Daytona 500: From Mike Helton, NASCAR president: "We are committed to the installation of crash data recorders by the beginning of the next race season. Such devices will help drivers, owners, manufacturers, and NASCAR study how impacts affect drivers and cars, In the meantime, we will work with the industry on details for making this a reality." From the report summary:
The blow to the head most likely occurred as a result of contact between the left occipital region and the right side of the steering wheel during the wall impact or between the occipital (the occipital bone forms the back part of the skull) region and vehicle structure on rebound from that impact. A sequence of complex body motions during the initial impact with the No. 36 car (Ken Schrader) prepositioned the body and head to the right and slightly rearward, immediately prior to and nearly simultaneous with the wall impact. The body and head then moved in response to both impacts, first generally rightward and then generally forward. The helmet was displaced forward on the head, the left lap belt separated, and the relatively exposed area of the left head severely impacted the right side of the steering wheel or, on rebound, the posterior region of the head impacted the interior structure behind and left of the driver seat.
It is unlikely that Dale Earnhardt's basilar skull fracture was caused by "head whip" or an impact to the chin. While it is possible that neck tension and torsion at the time of the blow to the head contributed to the basilar skull fracture, it is not likely that 'head whip' alone caused the fracture. There is no evidence of injuries to the neck bones, ligaments or muscles that would be expected in association with basilar skull fractures caused by head whip. Basilar skull fractures are not usually ascribed to head whip when there is evidence of significant other blows to the head (such as here).
The EMTs uniformly stated that they did not see the belt cut by anyone and they did not cut it themselves. While one attempted to use a pair of scissors to cut the helmet strap in order to remove the helmet, he was unable to do so and laid the scissors on the roof of the No. 3 car. None of the tools used to cut the roof of the No. 3 car in the extrication process was near the floor where the left lap belt was located, nor were they small enough to fit into the space where the belt was anchored to the floor. Comments on the accident from the investigative team of Dr. Dean Sicking and Dr. John Reid, professors at the University of Nebraska: At the time of the impact with the wall, the No. 3 car was traveling at approximately 157-160 mph. The car hit the wall at a heading angle of approximately 55-59 degrees. Its trajectory angle at the time of impact was approximately 13-14 degrees. The No. 3 car experienced a 'crash pulse' of approximately 80 milliseconds in duration. In other words, it was in deceleration for approximately 80 milliseconds. ... Its velocity changed by approximately 42-44 mph as a result of the wall impact. The heading angle, trajectory angle, crash pulse duration, lack of rotation and (velocity change) all made this a very severe impact.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
