[Injuries caused by automobile dragging: a report of three cases]

Three cases of victims who were dragged a long distance by automobiles are reported. Injuries caused by such dragging are discussed. [Case 1] A 50-year-old man was found dead under an automobile after having been dragged for a distance of 530 m. Deep abrasions were found in the right temporal region, both scapular regions, the buttocks, and the heels. There were excoriations toward upper side in the right hypochondriac region along the rib arch, and multiple rib fractures with and without severe hemorrhaging. Alcohol levels were 3.54 mg/ml in the femoral venous blood, and 4.54 mg/ml in the urine. It seemed that the victim was drunk and had been lying on his back and that the automobile's underbody had caught him in his right hypochondriac region and had compressed the thoraco-abdominal regions. [Case 2] A 50-year-old drunken man, who had been lying on his back on the side of a road, was dragged by a car for a distance of 2 km. The victim showed marked and deep abrasions of the back, the buttocks, the lateral surface of both ankles, and on the ulnar surface of the left forearm. In the left forearm, the ulna and soft tissues had been rubbed flat and were blackened. The alcohol levels in the femoral venous blood and in the urine were 3.31 and 4.19 mg/ml, respectively. [Case 3] An 83-year-old woman was found dead on the side of a road. In the right temporal region, the skull had been rubbed flat and the right cerebral hemisphere was exposed and flattened. Severe abrasions were observed on both shoulders, the buttocks, and on the back surfaces of the lower extremities. Her sandals and a broken cane were found on the road 2 km from the scene. The offender has not yet been arrested. Injuries caused by the road surface in traffic accidents usually take the form of excoriations or abrasions, and the three victims of this report showed severe and characteristic injuries. Excoriations or abrasions develop into abrasive injuries, defects of the skin or soft tissue, and to the exposure of the internal organs from continuous, prolonged dragging. Some of these accumulated injuries might have been caused by frictional heat.