Fatal broken neck from a high speed car crash??

Los Pollos Hermanos · Sep 20, 2015

Hello and Happy Sunday!

I'm currently editing my crime trilogy for content, tightening up the writing (a friend - who knows what she's doing - is doing the technical edit) and checking for factual accuracy.

Scene (short, but important):

One of my Good Guy characters is involved in a car crash. His brakes fail and he collides at ~65mph with a slowing truck on the interstate. The vehicle he's driving (law enforcement SUV-type) veers off the road, down a steep embankment and collides with a row of stationary RVs at the bottom.

At present he dies instantly from a broken neck - head lolling too far over to one side, game over.

1). Can this actually happen, or have I been watching too much TV?
2). If it's unlikely, what else could cause instant death?

I need instant VERY unpleasant death as there is Big Fallout from this incident.

:evil

Big thanks in advance,

LPH.

GeorgeK · Sep 20, 2015

It's very plausible

In high speed wrecks one doesn't even have to actually damage the bone at all. The spinal cord can detach from the brain stem.

Try looking up. "Rapid deceleration injuries."

Los Pollos Hermanos · Sep 20, 2015

Many thanks for the info.
I consulted my trusty friend Google and found this interesting, albeit toe-curling, link:

http://blog.parathyroid.com/race-car-deaths-medical-causes-racing-deaths/

nikkidj · Sep 21, 2015

Look up "atlanto-occipital dislocation." The skull essentially is dislocated from the spinal column. Instant death, but often the victim looks normal to a casual observer. It's only on x-ray at autopsy that they can figure out exactly what happened.

Christabelle · Sep 21, 2015

If the cars rolls or rapidly decelerates, an object could fly from the back or passenger seat and strike him in the head or neck. A high cervical spine injury (C1-C4ish) would paralyze the muscles needed to breathe. Brain stem may or may not be damaged, depending on what you need.

Pony. · Sep 21, 2015

Los Pollos Hermanos said:
Many thanks for the info.
I consulted my trusty friend Google and found this interesting, albeit toe-curling, link:

http://blog.parathyroid.com/race-car-deaths-medical-causes-racing-deaths/

Maybe you could use number two, from that list. That one sounds pretty gruesome.

The page itself is slightly slanted, though. The elements of track design they say need be changed are very elements that make racing challenging to the drivers and exciting to the spectator. The page questions if racing is safe. Anyone who has ever raced will tell it's not.
There is equipment and appliances to make racing safER, but inherently racing is not safe. That's what creates the thrill of the sport.

Los Pollos Hermanos · Sep 21, 2015

Thanks for all the gory details - haha!

Mr Bad Guy now has someone else in the figurative crosshairs...

WeaselFire · Sep 21, 2015

Impact with windshield. Happens all the time. Works better if you neglect to fasten the seat belt.

Jeff

talktidy · Sep 21, 2015

There is always a fall back of something nasty penetrating the cabin of the vehicle.

Los Pollos Hermanos · Sep 21, 2015

Broken glass from the windshield/screen will be useful for explaining the blood.

There's another car accident (or was it?!) coming up later in the story. I'll need to do some more brain-picking :e2cry:

for that one, as it'll be a Much Bigger Incident with Much More Fallout than this one.

He's a bad, bad lad...

Adversary · Sep 22, 2015

GeorgeK said:
It's very plausible

In high speed wrecks one doesn't even have to actually damage the bone at all. The spinal cord can detach from the brain stem.

Try looking up. "Rapid deceleration injuries."

I was actually watching when Dale Earnhart hit the wall and died. It was one of the most unimpressive, boring, utterly undramatic crashes (that actually caused a fatality) anyone had ever seen. Even after replay after replay after replay, it still made no sense... the car barely jolted. I dont remember exactly, but he hit the wall doing something like 180mph, but it was glancing, and the car barely slowed. Only well after the fact, after the math wizards got in on the game, did they explain that while he hit the wall at 180, and decelerated to 150, it was instant. Pretty much, an unprepared 30-0, in an instant. Brain stem detached. Done. Coasted to a halt, dead in his car, and it took a good while before they figured out why.

This would be a rarity i think, and one most uninformed readers might derail on.

I think your answer is a lot simpler. In a car accident, ANYTHING can happen. Anything at all. The craziest, most bizarre shit you can (or cant) imagine has ended lives in vehicles. One thing to keep in mind... a modern cop-style SUV is going to be a VERY safe vehicle to crash in, and that starts with the air bag. Maybe disable that early with the pre-crash, and snap his neck in the second (down the hill) impact. Definitely ditch the seatbelt, which opens up far more deadly options. Thrown from the truck? Rolled over? Through the windshield? Ducked then jammed head-first into the steering wheel? Heavy objects whipping around inside the truck? Shit... i read once a long time ago about a woman that was killed by her baby. Unrestrained baby in the back seat or wherever, became a projectile, broke mommy's neck. The weeeeirdest shit happens in violent car crashes... Its all fair game.

GeorgeK · Sep 22, 2015

Christabelle said:
If the cars rolls or rapidly decelerates, an object could fly from the back or passenger seat and strike him in the head or neck. A high cervical spine injury (C1-C4ish) would paralyze the muscles needed to breathe. Brain stem may or may not be damaged, depending on what you need.

The mantra is C 3 4 5 keeps the diaphragm alive

GeorgeK · Sep 22, 2015

Adversary said:
I was actually watching when Dale Earnhart hit the wall and died. It was one of the most unimpressive, boring, utterly undramatic crashes (that actually caused a fatality) anyone had ever seen. Even after replay after replay after replay, it still made no sense... the car barely jolted. I dont remember exactly, but he hit the wall doing something like 180mph, but it was glancing, and the car barely slowed. Only well after the fact, after the math wizards got in on the game, did they explain that while he hit the wall at 180, and decelerated to 150, it was instant. Pretty much, an unprepared 30-0, in an instant. Brain stem detached. Done. Coasted to a halt, dead in his car, and it took a good while before they figured out why.

This would be a rarity i think, and one most uninformed readers might derail on.

I think your answer is a lot simpler. In a car accident, ANYTHING can happen. Anything at all. The craziest, most bizarre shit you can (or cant) imagine has ended lives in vehicles. One thing to keep in mind... a modern cop-style SUV is going to be a VERY safe vehicle to crash in, and that starts with the air bag. Maybe disable that early with the pre-crash, and snap his neck in the second (down the hill) impact. Definitely ditch the seatbelt, which opens up far more deadly options. Thrown from the truck? Rolled over? Through the windshield? Ducked then jammed head-first into the steering wheel? Heavy objects whipping around inside the truck? Shit... i read once a long time ago about a woman that was killed by her baby. Unrestrained baby in the back seat or wherever, became a projectile, broke mommy's neck. The weeeeirdest shit happens in violent car crashes... Its all fair game.

I've even seen a patient who was ejected through the windshield while still strapped into his seat. Whatever bolts that held the seat in place broke during the collision. Anything can happen

Los Pollos Hermanos · Sep 22, 2015

The crash takes place in 2001, although I'd assume Fed-type vehicles would still be pretty safe back then.

The good guy would definitely be wearing his seatbelt, hence I've gone with the "come to a sudden stop and snap your neck" option.

Saying that, I seem to favour car crashes as a way to kill people (only in fiction, I can assure you), so all these extra snippets of goodness will no doubt come in useful either later in the trilogy or in a couple of other ideas I have for the future.

There was quite an effective advert on UK television a few years back which I've just found on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKHY69AFstE

It takes a lot to make my toes curl, and that succeeds.

Fatal broken neck from a high speed car crash??

Los Pollos Hermanos

Craving the next chocolate hit...

GeorgeK

ever seeking

Los Pollos Hermanos

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nikkidj

Christabelle

Pony.

Aspiring supervillain

Los Pollos Hermanos

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WeaselFire

Benefactor Member

talktidy

Los Pollos Hermanos

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Adversary

GeorgeK

ever seeking

GeorgeK

ever seeking

Los Pollos Hermanos

Craving the next chocolate hit...