Accident Reconstruction Network > News > October 2007

Accident Reconstruction News Article

The car hit the 160 pound body at 25mph, knocking it into the air to land on the parking lot pavement 48 feet later. Fortunately the body was that of a crash dummy, and it was hit by a car in the name of science.

"We want to gather some data for these types of accidents," said Deputy Paul Wade of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.

Wade took part in the tests conducted Tuesday at the Honda Center in Anaheim, as a member of CA2RS, the California Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists. The group was in Orange County for its fall conference.

Wade said the tests provided valuable data which will help police, insurance and private investigators know what physical evidence to look for in determining what happens in these types of accidents.

"We know a lot about these all ready, but very infrequently do we have time or the means in which we can actually do crash testing," Wade said.

Wade, of the sheriff's traffic division in Aliso Viejo, works with other deputies to investigate car accidents.

Using equations developed from these tests, and physical evidence left behind such as tire marks, Wade works to find details that can piece together how an accident happened – even when no one was there to see it.

The Anaheim Police Department helped secure the site for the crash testing, with investigators from as far north as Sacramento and other California communities.

Jerry Eubanks, a nationally recognized forensics expert on automobile accident reconstruction, led the testing procedures and said that because every accident is different, investigators have to know what kinds of evidence to look for.

"I've had a case where at 55 mph there were very, very minor injuries. And I've had a case at 25 mph where there was a complete amputation of the lower legs," Eubanks said.

The crash dummies were dressed in a new set of clothes for each test so investigators could look for evidence of what happened in an accident based on markings on the clothes.

After the 25 mph test, Eubanks had investigators there look for physical evidence to determine the cause. Some of the evidence they found were dents on the car's bumper, a cracked window, marks on the pavement and even bumper marks on the crash dummies clothes.

"It gives us a better picture of what happened," said Sgt. Doug English of the San Diego Police Department.

Contact the writer: meades@ocregister.com or 949-454-7352

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