The Traffic Accident Reconstruction Origin -ARnews-

Re: Speed range from head-strike in pick-up vs. pedestrian collision

Gene K. Baxter (baxter@forensicgroup.com)
Wed, 18 Jun 1997 17:37:25 -0400 (EDT)

Depending on the victims height, he was, most likely, catapulted (thrown upward and forward) into the air while the pickup passed underneath. You may want to check with your witness(es) to verify that. If you know the point of impact and point of rest, then you may be able to use a "tumble number" of 0.5, similar to a drag factor, to estimate the initial forward speed of the victim. The use of a tumble number is discussed in SAE 890859, Development of a Tumble Number for Use in Accident Reconstruction by T.A. Bratten, and SAE940924, Reconstruction of Automobile/Pedestrian Accidents Using CATAPULT (Combined Airborne Tumbling Analysis Procedure using Laws of motion to determine Throw speed) by R. Aronberg and A.A. Snider discuss this. Good luck.

Gene K. Baxter
baxter@forensicgroup.com

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