Cars and firearms

Question 1

Transport deaths - forensic issues

Answer 1

• Cause of death
  
  • Who was driving?
  • What speed?
  • How did it happen?
  • Seatbelt?
  • Mass disasters
  • Compensation

Question 2

Pedestrians

Answer 2

fatalities

- 50% over 70 years - 33% serious injury, 9% died
- 14% =  15 years - 23% serious injury, 1% died

Tend to occur more at night (10pm - 4am) and alcohol is an involvement

- Primary - car hits pedestrian 
- Secondary - flung/carried by vehicle and hit ground - big abrasions 

Primary injuries = legs (scooping up), head, crushing injuries

Question 3

Car occupants

Answer 3

Frontal impact - 80% maj impact - deceleration and stop suddenly
Rear impact - acceleration
Side impact
Roll over - don’t decelerate quickly but not very dangerous

Frontal - dace and head go through windscreen, whiplash, chest go into steering wheel, forces transmitted into bones

Question 4

Seatbelt - injuries

Answer 4

Stops impact with windscreen, spreads deceleration force, extends time of deceleration as designed to stretch, prevents ejection

Commonest injury = bruises - indicate what side of car on
Commonest increase in injuries = whiplash/ neck injuries

Dangers of seatbelts? - damage to pregnancy, wouldn’t be able to get out of car if on fire, drive more recklessly

Question 5

Speed

Answer 5

Injuries rarely useful esp for pedestrians

Question 6

Mass disaster

Answer 6

Main issue = identification of ppl

Question 7

Firearms - hardly occur in UK

Answer 7

Forensic issues:

1. Suicide, murder or accident
2. Reconstruction - range, no of shots, direction of shots
3. Identification of weapon

Injury depends on:

1. Weapon
2. Ammunition
3. Range
4. Site on body

Question 8

2 types of weapon:

Answer 8

1. Shotgun - designed for shooting wild animals, multiple lead spheres come out of barrel with better chance of hitting and barrel inside = smooth, 12 bore, range = 50m (small)
   2. Rifle - single bullets and variable, inside barrel is carved out with spirals so bullets spin making it more stable (further more accurately), range = up to several kilometres

Question 9

Shotgun wound

Answer 9

What leaves muzzle? - shot, hot gas, propellant, wads

- Close range - circular abrasion, circular wound, smoke soiling, wads inside wound

- Far range (beyond 2-3m) - pellets - stay in body

Question 10

Rifle wounds

Answer 10

Bullets = more energy - don’t stay in body, internal damage

Exit wounds:
1. Edges everted
2. Stelllate
3. No smoke soiling, burning/ soot
4. May be irregular, large or multiple

Question 11

Suicide:

Answer 11

Usually close range, sites of election e.g. head, nearly always men in UK and single shot