Lying on the Road Before Being Run Over: Vehicular Manslaughter, Suicide, or Accident? Two Case Reports and Literature Review

Doro, Luca; Bonvicini, Barbara; Beccegato, Elena; Terranova, Claudio

doi:10.1111/1556-4029.14500

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, there are also situations where a vehicle hits a pedestrian lying on the road. The reasons for pedestrians being run over in that way have been identified as follows: a previous collision and subsequent falling to the ground; falling to the ground because of acute sickness or intoxication; and deliberately lying on the road to cause self-harm [10]. Such collisions have been particularly examined by forensic practitioners; however, there are no related comprehensive statistics for Japan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Fatalities or Severe Injuries to Pedestrians Lying on the Road in Japan: Nationwide Police Database Study

Koh

Hitosugi

Kagesawa³

et al. 2021

Healthcare

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To help reduce the number of pedestrians lying on the road suffering fatal or severe injuries as a result of vehicle collisions, we investigated the influencing factors. We conducted an analysis of the records of the Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis Japan between 2012 and 2018; we found that 2452 pedestrians lying on the road were involved in collisions (797 fatalities, 784 severely injured, 871 mildly injured). Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the following as major factors that positively influenced the fatalities: head or neck injuries (odds ratio [OR], 90.221); trunk injuries (OR, 71.040); trucks as offending vehicle (OR, 2.741); collision velocity of 10–20 km/h (OR, 31.794), 20–30 km/h (OR, 2.982), 30–40 km/h (OR, 8.394), 40–50 km/h (OR, 16.831), and >50 km/h (OR, 18.639); and hit-and-run cases (OR, 1.967). The following had a positive influence on severe injuries: trunk injuries (OR, 4.060); collision velocity of 10–20 km/h (OR, 2.540), 20–30 km/h (OR, 3.700), 30–40 km/h (OR, 5.297), 40–50 km/h (OR, 5.719), and ≥50 km/h (OR, 5.244); and hit-and-run cases (OR, 2.628). Decreasing the collision velocity, avoiding collisions to the head and neck or trunk, and preventing hit-and-run cases would be effective in reducing fatal or severe injuries to pedestrians lying on the road.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors Influencing Fatalities or Severe Injuries to Pedestrians Lying on the Road in Japan: Nationwide Police Database Study

Koh

Hitosugi

Kagesawa³

et al. 2021

Healthcare

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Explanations why a person would be lying on the ground before being run over by a vehicle include a previous accident and resultant fall to the ground, falling to the ground due to acute illness or intoxication, or suicidal behavior with deliberate lying on the road to cause self-harm 14,15 . In the current series, the majority of the cases did not “fall” to the ground but were sleeping on the warm road surface in the context of alcohol intoxication.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

A 20-Year Review of Recumbent Pedestrian Fatalities (2001–2020)

Tiemensma

Byard

2022

Am J Forensic Med Pathol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A retrospective study was performed in the Northern Territory of Australia of all cases of pedestrian fatalities where the decedents had been sitting, crouching, sleeping, or lying on or next to a road, over a 20-year period (January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2020). Of the 865 road traffic fatalities, 161 (19%) were pedestrians, and 42 of these were recumbent at the time of the incident (26% of all pedestrians). The most common age range was 30 to 39 years with a male to female ratio of 25:17. No individuals younger than 15 years were involved. Acute alcohol intoxication played a role in death in all of the cases with medium to high range blood alcohol concentrations. In addition, cannabis or its metabolites were detected in 6 cases, and methylamphetamine in 1 case. A history of chronic alcohol use or dependence was known in 6 (14%) of cases. In no case was an underlying medical condition contributory to death. The majority of incidents occurred at night. This study has shown a very high incidence of recumbent pedestrian deaths in an Australian subpopulation related to acute alcohol intoxication, decreased visibility, and vulnerability because of their position on or proximate to a road.

show abstract

“…Clarifying the manner of death in pedestrian suicide may not, however, be possible, particularly in cases of intoxication. 63,64 Intoxicated pedestrians have also been hit by vehicles while they have been lying or sleeping on a road surface. While a number of these cases may be unintentional there must also be a certain percentage that is suicides.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An overview of suicides related to motor vehicles

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although vehicles may be used in a wide variety of suicides, this has not been a focus in the forensic literature. Thus, an analysis of coronial autopsy reports at Forensic Science SA, Adelaide, South Australia over a 16-year period from January 2005 to December 2020 was undertaken to provide an overview of cases in which it was considered that a vehicle had been integral to the successful completion of a suicide. De-identified details were collected from all cases in which a vehicle had facilitated or been used as a method of suicide. A number of different types of vehicle-related suicide methods were identified, including cases where vehicles had been used as secure places for suicide or where the vehicle had been used to cause significant blunt force trauma or to enter a lethal environment such as water. Specific examples were taken from the following categories: (1) inhalation of gas, (2) drug toxicity, (3) hanging or ligature strangulation, (4) self-immolation, (5) drowning, (6) vehicle collision, (7) driving off a cliff, (8) jumping or lying in front of a vehicle and (9) the use of more than one method (i.e. complex). This report is not intended to provide an epidemiological analysis of car-related suicides. Instead, the details of selected cases have been used to illustrate the spectrum of methods that may be used in vehicle-assisted suicides.

show abstract

Lying on the Road Before Being Run Over: Vehicular Manslaughter, Suicide, or Accident? Two Case Reports and Literature Review

Cited by 4 publications

References 20 publications

Factors Influencing Fatalities or Severe Injuries to Pedestrians Lying on the Road in Japan: Nationwide Police Database Study

Factors Influencing Fatalities or Severe Injuries to Pedestrians Lying on the Road in Japan: Nationwide Police Database Study

A 20-Year Review of Recumbent Pedestrian Fatalities (2001–2020)

An overview of suicides related to motor vehicles

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About