Q I have written a mystery based on the hit-and-run death of a female jogger. She has been hit from behind. I assume she would have been thrown some distance. How far? Several feet, yards? What type of injuries would she most likely have sustained?
Sue Parker
Author of Foul Player
Yorba Linda, California
A This is very unpredictable. In an auto versus pedestrian accident virtually everything in the body is subject to injury. The factors that dictate what happens include the size, age, and health of the victim, the speed and size of the vehicle, the nature of the contact (head-on, at an angle, glancing, etc.), and other things, including luck.
There is an adage in medicine that says, whatever happens happens. Your victim could die instantly, suffer no injuries whatsoever, and anything in between. She could fly two hundred feet, roll under the wheels, or simply be knocked down. Anything is possible so there are no rules.
The injuries she could suffer are many and varied and include:
Contusions and abrasions of the entire body.
Bone fractures: legs, arms, ribs, back, skull, and neck. Arms and legs could be simple fractures or what we call comminuted (fractured in several areas or crushed) or compound (where the skin is broken and the bone protrudes).
Ruptured internal organs: The spleen is most likely but also the liver, kidneys, intestines, and the stomach. These would cause varying degrees of internal bleeding, and if enough blood is lost she would slip into shock and die.
Lung and heart damage: Rupture of the heart or the aorta would be almost instantly lethal. A bruise or tear of the lung could lead to its collapse (we call this a pneumothorax) of one or both lungs or severe bleeding where she could essentially drown in her own blood.
Head trauma: This can be with or without a skull fracture. There could be a contusion (bruise) of the brain or bleeding into or around the brain. This can be deadly very quickly, or she could survive and require brain surgery. This type of injury, like all the ones above, come in many flavors from minor to deadly.