NASCAR: Combination of factors killed Earnhardt
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive
August 21, 2001
7:44 PM EDT (2344 GMT)
ATLANTA -- NASCAR's $1 million investigation into the death of Dale Earnhardt concluded that a broken seat belt and subsequent blunt force trauma to the head resulted in a ring fracture to the base of the skull, killing the seven-time Winston Cup champion.
In an hour-long lecture at the downtown Hyatt Regency, complete with in-depth graphics and photographic evidence from the Feb. 18 crash, investigation experts Dr. James H. Raddin and Dr. Dean L. Sicking walked the national media through the six-month inquiry - the most comprehensive look at safety in NASCAR's 53 years.
Out of that investigation came several points, most of which dealt with the dynamics of Earnhardt's crash. However, in terms of moving forward NASCAR President Mike Helton said that the results of the investigation will lead to several changes.
He said "black box" crash data recording systems in the cars, a full time medical liason that is aware of the driver's medical histories to work with local medical teams and a full-time accident analyst will be in place by Speedweeks 2002.
NASCAR will not mandate head and neck restraint systems at this time, nor will the rumored crushable chassis be required. Helton did stress that NASCAR's research and development facility in Conover, N.C., had hired a director and was fully under way.
"We think there's still some things we need to understand completely," Helton said. "Mandating (the HANS) completely at this point is not a wise thing to do based on production schedules of the parts and pieces themselves and the understanding of the entirety to their uses."
Earnhardt's death was arguably the biggest safety-related wake-up call ever for Helton and his troops, so they employed outside experts to study the problem.
Raddin, a national leader in accident causation analysis and director of Byodynamic Research Corporation in San Antonio, Texas, used a four-step process to illustrate the change in motion that resulted in the displacement of Earnhardt's head upon impact, resulting in his fatal injuries.
Raddin said that Earnhardt's death was not the result of a single cause, but that a combination of several unusual factors triggered his death.
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Mike Helton makes his opening remarks.
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"These (factors) included the uncommon severity and trajectory of the car's impact with the wall, an immediately prior collision with (Ken Schrader's car) that put him out of position, and a separation of the left lap belt under load that allowed greater motion within the car," Raddin said.
Raddin later said that he believed that Earnhardt might still have perished even had the belt remained intact, and that was backed up by a critical excerpt from the report:
"The seatbelt separation cannot be isolated as the sole cause of Dale Earnhardt's death. While the separation of the lap belt increased the potential for serious injury, the precise timing of the separation during the impact is unknown.
"As the experts explain, the crash was very severe, several events coincided in a unique manner to produce a tragic result, and none of them can be singled out as the sole cause. In other words, it is impossible to determine with certainty whether Dale Earnhardt would or would not have survived if the lap belt had remained intact."
Much evidence regarding the seat belt in question was included in the report, via an 11-point synopsis:
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Dr. James Raddin
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1. The belt system was found loose and displaced to the right.
2. There was no opportunity for cutting.
3. No one at the accident scene could confirm that the belt was intact or separated.
4. The medical examiner photographs show a separated belt.
5. The left lap belt has been secured since the accident.
6. DNA and other evidence confirm the separated left lap belt in NASCAR's possession is the belt from the Earnhardt accident.
7. Fiber analysis shows that the belt was torn under stress and not cut.
8. The pattern of injuries is consistent with separation of the belt during impact.
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Dr. Dean Sicking
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9. The anchored portion of the left lap belt show that it was "dumped," meaning the seat belt's webbing is pulled or moved significantly to one side of the metal adjustment device through which the webbing is threaded.
10. Simpson Race Products experts concur that the left lap belt separated during the impact.
11. The chain of custody demonstrates that there was no opportunity for anyone to invent a separated lap belt.
Although the belt was clearly broken, Bill Simpson, who founded the company that manufactured the belt, continues to place the blame on the belt's installation. He was in attendance Tuesday, but said little at the urging of the herd of lawyers that surrounded him.
Raddin also concentrated on the medical aspect of the investigation, which included an in-depth look at Earnhardt's extensive injuries, including eight broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken left ankle, a broken left clavicle and several abrasions.
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Fron left: Dr. James Raddin, Dr. Dean Sicking, Mike Helton
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Raddin said he hadn't seen Earnhardt's autopsy photographs due to them being "under legal seal," but that he was able to achieve a satisfactory conclusion from the autopsy data, which he said was detailed. The autopsy was studied earlier by Dr. Barry Myers from Duke University, whose report proved totally different from Raddin's conclusions. Myers, who did see the photos, said that Earnhardt died from a violent head whip, and that he'd have died regardless of the state of the seatbelt.
"I think what you find is that there is a conclusion from Dr. Myers' report that it is likely to be some neck stretch with some head impact," Raddin said. "I'm finding the same thing, except based upon my kinematics analysis I'm finding that location to be different, and, you know, given an opportunity for each of us to have seen each other's data set, you might have seen very similar findings."
Sicking, director of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility and a professor of civil engineering at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, focused his efforts on the dynamics of the crash itself, how it effected the car, and how the collision between Earnhardt and Ken Schrader just before impact with the wall made the accident exponentially worse, due to crash angle and added velocity.
He used various graphics, photos and computer generated re-creations of the crash to illustrate the accident, and why it was so devastating. Using an array of still photos, he showed how the force created by Earnhardt's car changed throughout the accident.
First, the collision with Schrader significantly increased the angle into the wall, which was gauged at 55-59 degrees, making the impact much more severe than an unimpeded collision into the wall. Second, the impact with Schrader's car resulted in approximately a 9-11 mph change in velocity.
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Mike Helton
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At the time of wall impact, Earnhardt was travelling at approximately 157-160 mph, then experienced a deceleration for approximately 80 milliseconds, resulting in a 42-44 mph change in velocity upon impact.
In laymen's terms, this is what that means: A driver sitting parked in a passenger car and a different driver rams the parked car at 75-80 mph.
"The No. 3 car hit the wall at a critical angle, thereby highly concentrating the velocity into the wall and creating a worst-case scenario," Sicking said.
A brief four-point synopsis of what Raddin and Sicking concluded, each being a direct quote from the report:
1. "Dale Earnhardt most likely died from a blow to the occipital portion of the skull (the lower back of the head), which in turn caused a basilar skull fracture."
2. "It is unlikely that Dale Earnhardt's basilar skull fracture was caused by head whip or an impact to the chin."
3. "The left lap belt separated at some point during the wall impact, which increased the forward and rightward motion of Dale Earnhardt during the wall impact."
4. "No single factor can be isolated as the cause of Dale Earnhardt's death."
For now, NASCAR trudges forward in its quest for heightened safety awareness, which was the overall goal of this investigation after all.
"Nothing we do can bring back those that we've lost as part of our sport," Helton said. "We can, however, learn from those losses and honor them in what we do moving forward.
"One of the reasons for creating NASCAR more than 50 years ago was Bill France Sr.'s desire to improve safety for drivers and spectators. There are very few in our history who have had the appreciation and energy toward making it safe, as did Dale Earnhardt.
"Through the collaborative efforts of many in this sport, many improvements have taken place. Three excellent examples are the implementation of fuel cells and the roof flaps and the development and continuous improvement of the roll cage.
"We learned a great deal from (Raddin and Sicking) and have compiled a body of knowledge that will contribute to safer races well into the future."
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