The spectrum of body injuries of the driver and passenger in the case of a lethal traffic injury in a frontal collision in the interior of class E cars

The article discusses the state of examination of a lethal automobile injury to a driver and a passenger in a frontal collision in the passenger compartment of class E cars. Aim of the work. Investigate the injuries of the driver and passenger in the passenger compartment of an E class car and highlight the signs of being in the passenger compartment in the driver’s or passenger’s seat for practical use in forensic medical research. Materials and methods. The objects of the study were 179 «Acts of forensic medical examination of corpses» and «Conclusions of an expert» on road accidents accompanied by injury and death of people obtained from the archives of the Zhytomyr Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination, accompanied by the death of persons inside car. The damage to the driver and passenger in a frontal collision in the passenger compartment of class E cars was carefully considered. A set of proven reliable methods was used in the work: anthropometric, morphometric, photographic, forensic, statistical analysis. Results. As a result of the registration of damages, the features inherent in damages received in the passenger compartment of an E-class car in a frontal collision were revealed. In particular: injuries to the soft tissues of the left leg prevailed among the front seat passengers, and not among the drivers, as is commonly believed; fractures of the bones of the lower extremities were found only in drivers; fractures of the bones of the right upper limb were observed only in front seat passengers; damage to the soft tissues of the left hand was characteristic only of drivers; the drivers had pelvic fractures on the right and left; the drivers had rib fractures on the left in combination with ruptures of the lungs on the side of the injury; the passengers had injuries to the ribs on the right, but no right-sided ruptures of the lungs were recorded. Conclusions. It has been established that the spectrum of damage to a driver and a passenger in a fatal car injury in a frontal collision in the passenger compartment of class E cars is characterized by a sufficient variety. Fractures of the right and left lower extremities and fractures of the thoracic spine are among the features that distinguished the driver from the passenger in a frontal collision in the passenger compartment of class E cars.