Surface tyre imprints caused by a motorcycle collision rather than by being run over. (January 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Xiao, Ning; Li, Sheng-Dong; Zhang, Xue; Yu, Yan-Geng; Zhang, Fu; Zhao, Wei-Dong; Li, Dong-Ri
• Is Part Of: Medicine, science and the law. Volume 59:Number 1(2019)
• Page Start: 4
• Page End: 8
• Publication Date: 2019-01
• Subjects: Forensic science -- tyre imprints -- collision -- run over -- blunt force -- three-dimensional laser scan; Forensic sciences -- Periodicals; Medical laws and legislation -- Great Britain -- Periodicals; 614.105
• DOI: 10.1177/0025802418810102
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0025-8024

Abstract

Tyre imprints on the skin are usually considered to be the result of being run over by a motor vehicle. This article reports a traffic accident in which tyre marks on the victim's skin were caused by a collision rather than by being run over. The mechanism of the injury in this case is analysed and discussed. A 23-year-old male drove a motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol and collided with a sign pillar on the side of the road. Both the victim and the motorcycle careened into the bottom of a tractor-trailer. No witnesses or surveillance videos could confirm the process of the accident. Because tyre imprints were found on the victim's skin, traffic police believed that he had been run over during the accident. However, forensic autopsy and analysis of the accident process revealed that the true cause of the imprints was a collision between the victim's body and a tyre.