Fatal blast injuries in tyre blowouts: two autopsy case reports

Abstract

Background: Fatal blast injuries are generally reported as a consequence of explosions, mainly in terrorist events, work-related detonations, or domestic settings. Although quite rare, blast injuries of high kinetic energy can be seen in tyre blowouts and are very dangerous and potentially lethal because of their unpredictability. This phenomenon is rarely reported in the existing forensic literature. The aim of this study was to report two cases of fatal truck tyre bursts and to discuss the mechanisms leading to the burst and the pattern of injuries. Case presentations: Case 1 was of a 58-year-old truck driver man who was standing nearby a detached tyre that was being inflated in a repair shop when the burst occurred. The tyre struck him in the face and threw him. The medicolegal autopsy showed a right periorbital haematoma, a large wound of the left parietal scalp, a diffuse subarachnoid haemorrhage, an atlanto-occipital dislocation, a fracture of the hyoid bone, multiple rib fractures, and lacerations of the ascending aorta and the pulmonary arteries. Case 2 involved a young man of 24-year-old, a worker in a tyre repair shop, who was inflating a truck’s tyre when it burst violently. The injuries sustained included bleeding from the right ear, fractures of the facial bones, a left hemispheric subdural haematoma associated with the fracture of the skull base, a rib fracture, and diffuse areas of contusions to the lungs. Toxicological analyses were negative in both cases. Conclusion: Fatalities related to tyre blowout accidents are uncommon. The mechanisms leading to a blowout can be mechanical or chemical in origin, and the main danger of a burst often occurs when air enters the tyre during inflation. Internal damage caused by the pressure waves of the blast often exceeds what would be expected based on external signs alone.