[Forensic Life] Traffic Accident Simulation, Clearing Murder Charges

The man had long suffered from a lung disease and had been weak for a long time, requiring regular treatment at the hospital. It was his wife who took care of him diligently. It was also her decision to move to the countryside, where the air was said to be good.

One winter, after a heavy snowfall, the road was very slippery. The wife carefully drove with her husband in the passenger seat, but on a downhill slope, the steering wheel became unresponsive. As she hurriedly turned the wheel, the vehicle collided with a roadside embankment. The front bumper broke with a cracking sound. The wife hit her chest against the steering wheel and felt pain. When she looked back at her husband, he did not move at all. He had died. The police, after hearing the statement, checked whether there was insurance coverage. The wife answered that there was a life insurance policy on her husband. After transporting the body to the hospital and taking X-rays, the hospital suggested that the husband likely died from a broken neck. The police, after confirming the insurance amount, concluded that it was clearly a murder case. The amount was very large, and since the car was driven at less than 30 km/h, it was highly suspicious that the wife was unharmed while only the husband's neck was broken.

The autopsy confirmed the cause of death. The human neck has a total of seven cervical vertebrae. The deceased had fractures and hemorrhages in the upper (between the 2nd and 3rd cervical vertebrae), middle (between the 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae), and lower (between the 6th and 7th cervical vertebrae) regions. The cause of death was clearly observed to be damage to the cervical nerves caused by multiple cervical vertebrae fractures. Additionally, there was subcutaneous hemorrhage from the knees hitting the dashboard. No sleeping pills or poisons were detected in the blood.

Even a martial artist as skilled as Hollywood actor Steven Seagal could not break multiple cervical vertebrae like this. However, scientifically clear data was needed. Recently, computer simulations (known as Madimo) have been applied to traffic accident or fall fatalities to verify whether the observed injuries match the circumstances. Considering the type of vehicle and the passenger seat position, a simulation was conducted. The analysis showed that at 30 km/h, when colliding with an object on the roadside, the human model moved forward in the seat, causing the knees to contact the dashboard, which acted as a pivot point, and the head caught on the ceiling, resulting in the neck bending. Simulations showed the head catching on the ceiling starting at speeds as low as 20 km/h. These findings matched the husband's neck and knee injuries.

In conclusion, the husband was not wearing a seatbelt and had reclined the vehicle seat. Even at low speeds, if not wearing a seatbelt, the upper body is raised upon collision with a frontal object, causing the neck to catch on the ceiling and resulting in multiple cervical vertebrae fractures. Fortunately, the wife was cleared of murder charges and was able to receive genuine condolences from those around her.

Autopsies of traffic accident fatalities are considered among the most challenging cases for forensic pathologists, comparable to medical malpractice cases. Sometimes, traffic accident cases are resolved without autopsy, which can lead to unresolved mysteries, making traffic accident deaths even more difficult. Forensic pathologists can now reconstruct the scene using not only facts obtained from autopsies but also video materials and the latest computer modeling mentioned above. Although this work is described simply, it is time-consuming and very complex. However, if such work can achieve justice or clear wrongful accusations, that is satisfying. It is regrettable that there are many cases where the opportunity to reveal the truth was lost forever without such chances. Verification through autopsy is essential in cases involving large insurance payouts.

Yoo Sung-ho, Forensic Pathologist

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.