Earnhardt's Seat Belt Really Broke (Police Photo Shows)

Jim Leusner and Henry Pierson Curtis
Orlando Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted June 9, 2001

Accident Photos and More Seat Belt Articles - Police Report - Accident Articles new 3/2/02

Daytona Beach police on Friday released photos of the controversial seat belt that NASCAR says broke apart when racing legend Dale Earnhardt's car slammed into the wall on the last lap of the Daytona 500.

The image of the lap belt was made public nearly four months after the Feb. 18 crash -- and just three days before a hearing in a court case in which a student newspaper is seeking access to Earnhardt's autopsy photos over the objections of his widow.

The newspaper, the Independent Florida Alligator, has questioned not only the sealing of the autopsy records but NASCAR's handling and control of evidence in the crash investigation. The condition of the belt is at the heart of an ongoing debate over whether the deaths of Earnhardt and at least three other drivers in the past year might have been prevented with better safety equipment.

Attorney Tom Julin, who is representing the student paper, said he wants to know more about why the photos are only now being released -- and exactly how the seat belt was handled in what Daytona Beach police call NASCAR's "chain of custody."

"Who removed it? Where's it been? " Julin asked. "It's quite bizarre that NASCAR is inviting selected people to look at this belt. It certainly looks as though NASCAR is trying to persuade these selected individuals that the cause of the death is the cause of death they believe."

NASCAR officials could not be reached for comment Friday evening. Five days after the crash, they announced the existence of the broken belt but did not display it publicly. A Daytona International Speedway doctor speculated at the same news conference that an unprecedented belt failure allowed Earnhardt's head to strike the steering wheel, causing his fatal head injuries.

Crash expert disagrees

But the doctor and NASCAR backed away from that suggestion after a court-appointed crash expert said the broken belt did not contribute to the death. That expert pinned the death on a violent head-whip motion that shattered the base of Earnhardt's skull. Some safety advocates say such deaths are preventable with a head-and-neck-restraint device that is mandatory in some racing leagues but not in NASCAR.

Late Friday night, Daytona Beach police Chief Kenneth Small said his investigators traveled to North Carolina to examine the seat belt and Earnhardt's wrecked car on May 29 at the invitation of NASCAR.

That same day, NASCAR President Mike Helton used his pocketknife on a similar seatbelt to show police the difference between a belt that is cut and one that is pulled apart in a crash.

Four of the nine photos released show a severed left lap seat belt torn at the adjuster plate to the left of Earnhardt's leg. The others show a sealed UPS envelope which contained the belts, a backup No. 3 Chevy of Earnhardt's and a similar set of belts and how they are configured inside a car.

Daytona Beach police Sgt. Steve Szabo's report states he used a magnifying glass to examine the torn belt with Helton, Winston Cup racing Director Gary Nelson and speedway security director Tom Galloway looking on.

"Closer examination with a magnifying glass revealed the belt fibers torn, with some exposed fiber ends in a 'ball' as if melted," Szabo wrote. "There was no indication appearing consistent with a cut from an edged instrument, and no abrasions were observable in the areas adjacent to the break in the belt ends."

Szabo also inspected the car Earnhardt died in and said the seat, interior and anchoring bolts for the belts show no "abnormalities." He wrote that the steering wheel was bent on the right side and two indentations consistent with "harness metal clasps" located near the bottom of the wheel.

Police Chief Small said the release of the photos had nothing to do with Monday's court hearing. He said the photos were released to comply with standing media records requests for all documents and photos connected with the probe.

"We're not playing hide the pea here," Small said. "The thought of someone making that connection [with the Monday hearing] never occurred to me."

Immediately after Earnhardt's death, there were mounting concerns about the stiffness of NASCAR chassis and whether head-restraint devices should be mandated. Those concerns were stifled -- at least temporarily -- when NASCAR announced Feb. 23 that the broken seat belt had been discovered within hours of the crash.

Belt maker disputes claim

Seat-belt maker Bill Simpson has disputed whether his belt broke. He also questioned whether Earnhardt's belts were properly installed.

Police handling of the investigation came into question in March when Detective Robert Walker said he was told by a superior on the night of the crash not to look at or photograph Earnhardt's car or attend his autopsy. He also said no one ever told him a seat belt had broken.

Then on April 29, Orange County firefighter Tommy Propst, a track rescue worker, said in a Sentinel story that when he unlatched Earnhardt's seat belt, it had tension on it and was not broken. NASCAR officials then changed their story and said they discovered the failed belt not on the night of the crash, but the next morning.

Propst said Friday night that he was unmoved by the new photos and sticks by his story.

"The broken seat belt does not fit with common sense and the basic knowledge of physics," said Propst's lawyer, Elizabeth Faiella. "When you have resistance, the object is not free. When he pulled on the belt, it resisted him. You can't reconcile it."

George Fisher, a professor at Stanford University College of Law, found it unusual that Daytona Beach police accepted NASCAR's claim that the seat belt had been kept in a chain of custody that ruled out tampering. Szabo wrote that NASCAR kept a log of people who had access to the belt after police and the medical examiner released the car Feb. 19.

"Nobody who is involved in court should assume the good faith on the part of anyone who has an interest in the outcome of a dispute," Fisher said.

Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/

top

June 8, 2001

Police Say Earnhardt's Lap Belt Torn

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 11:05 p.m. ET

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- The lap belt worn by Dale Earnhardt when he crashed on the final lap of the Daytona 500 was torn, a local police report said Friday.

After the crash Feb. 18, NASCAR said a broken seat belt was discovered in the car and might have played a role in the death of the seven-time Winston Cup champion.

Investigators told The News-Journal of Daytona Beach they examined Earnhardt's wrecked Chevrolet and its belt system on May 29 just outside Charlotte, N.C., where NASCAR transported the car for safe keeping while the probe continued.

Detective Sgt. Steve Szabo said he found the original lap belt in two pieces with torn fibers. He said NASCAR president Mike Helton then used a pocket knife to cut another belt that was the same model, manufactured by Simpson Performance Products. Szabo examined both belts.

``The cut belt did not have any similarity to the belt ends that were involved in the crash,'' Szabo wrote in a report obtained by the newspaper.

Szabo determined Earnhardt's belt had torn in the area where it is adjusted for tightness.

NASCAR has never said a failed lap belt caused Earnhardt's death, but Daytona International Speedway physician Steve Bohannon speculated at a news conference Feb. 23 that the torn harness could have been a contributing factor.

Bohannon has since backed away from that theory after an independent accident specialist's report said Earnhardt died when his head whipped violently forward after his car hit a wall going 150 mph.

Also, an emergency worker on the scene has said Earnhardt's belt was intact after the crash.

Simpson has maintained the belt didn't fail. He could not be reached for comment Friday.

John Mills, an attorney for Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, would not comment on the findings when reached late Friday.

``The report speaks for itself,'' Helton said.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-CAR-Earnhardt-Seat-Belt.html?searchpv=aponline

top

Earnhardt rescuer now says seat belt broke

Jim Leusner
Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted July 7, 2001

The emergency medical technician who crawled into Dale Earnhardt's wrecked car says she now believes his seat belt broke during the fatal crash at the Daytona 500.

Patti Dobler of Winter Park said she concluded this after participating in a re-enactment of the crash scene staged by NASCAR in North Carolina, CNNSI.com reported Friday.

Dobler said she replayed her role in the Feb. 18 rescue attempt with fellow paramedic Jason Brown and veteran driver Ken Schrader, the first to reach Earnhardt at the scene. Schrader's M&M's race car was brought to the session, as were Earnhardt's No. 3 Chevrolet and a backup car.

Absent was Orange County firefighter Tommy Propst, who has disputed NASCAR's version of the crash by insisting that Earnhardt's lap belt was not broken when he reached inside the car to free it.

"Before, I didn't know if the seat belt was broke," Dobler said. "After that trip and seeing the actual seat belt and all the evidence, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that that seat belt broke."

Dobler told earlier interviewers that the belts were loose but did not come apart when she pulled, that she was too busy to notice any break and that she had no reason to doubt Propst. She told CNNSI.com that she now believes the belt ripped along an adjuster plate.

"I held the belt in my hand," she said. "It was torn in half."

Propst said her comments change nothing for him. "She has the right to change her mind, I guess. I know what I saw and what I done," he said. "When I took the belt off him, it was not broken."

His lawyer, Elizabeth Faiella, said Propst would have participated in the re-enactment if NASCAR President Mike Helton had allowed it to be videotaped. In a letter to Faiella, he expressed concern that a video would become public and cause "anguish and grief" for the Earnhardt family.

"It would be real interesting if we could all see that re-enactment, wouldn't it?" Faiella said. "We don't have any idea how accurate it was."

Representatives of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Richard Childress Racing viewed the session, as did Helton, CNNSI.com reported.

NASCAR says Propst, who told his story to the Orlando Sentinel in April, is mistaken about Earnhardt's belt. The racing group held a Feb. 23 news conference in which a doctor speculated that the broken belt could have allowed Earnhardt's chin to hit the steering wheel, causing his fatal head injury.

A court-approved medical expert later determined the seat belt had not been a factor.

Propst, who has worked major races at Daytona International Speedway for eight years, said he decided to sit out tonight's Pepsi 400 because of the controversy he started.

Bruce Beckwith, the track's head paramedic, called Propst "a good guy" and said, "He's welcome back here anytime he's willing."

Source: http://orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-asec-seatbelt070701.story

top

Nascar Probe finds car-design flaws

Ed Hinton | Orlando Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted August 10, 2001

NASCAR's investigation into the death of driver Dale Earnhardt reveals safety problems in the design of the race cars, according to reliable sources close to the investigation.

The sources also said the investigators essentially confirm the findings of the court-appointed independent expert who determined Earnhardt died of a sudden head-whip action when his car hit the wall Feb. 18 in the Daytona 500.

The four-month investigation has been the most far-reaching independent inquiry in NASCAR's 52-year history. Multiple sources closely tied to the investigation have revealed some of the findings to the Orlando Sentinel but have requested anonymity.

Here are three key points, according to the sources:

NASCAR race cars, built by individual racing teams and inspected by NASCAR, lack sufficient crush resistance in the front ends to adequately protect drivers from the severity of crashes. Redesigning probably will be recommended, with energy-absorbent bumpers and the aluminum-foam “crush box” currently under development.

Earnhardt's fatal basilar skull fracture will not be blamed on a broken seat belt. Investigators have essentially confirmed the findings of Dr. Barry Myers, the independent expert appointed to settle a legal dispute between the Sentinel and Earnhardt's widow, Teresa. Myers found in April that Earnhardt died of a violent forward head whip. He said the seat belt, even if it had been broken in the crash, did not cause the fatal injury.

Emergency medical technician Tommy Propst might have incorrectly concluded that Earnhardt's lap belt was intact when he arrived at the crash scene.

NASCAR president Mike Helton and chairman Bill France Jr. declined to comment on the findings of the investigation. It is also unclear what NASCAR will do with the results.

Earnhardt's death was the fourth in NASCAR in a nine-month span and focused national attention on the organization's record on driver safety.

Five days after the racing legend's death, NASCAR announced a broken seat belt had been found in Earnhardt's car. Dr. Steve Bohannon, a physician employed by Daytona International Speedway, theorized that the breakage of the belt caused Earnhardt's head to move forward and strike the steering wheel, causing his fatal injury. But Myers concluded April.9 that the belt didn't cause Earnhardt's death.

That same day, NASCAR announced an expanded investigation using “internationally acclaimed experts” and promised the results in August. Bohannon later recanted his theory, deferring to Myers' expertise.

NASCAR has refused to divulge the identity of its experts or the results until the investigation is complete. The report is scheduled to be released Aug..21 in Atlanta.

Behind the investigation

The two major organizations spearheading the investigation, sources say, are Biodynamic Research Corp. of San Antonio and the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Both groups are outside the immediate NASCAR family of racing teams and suppliers.

Biodynamic Research is handling the biomechanical phase of the investigation - the body movement involved in Earnhardt's death. Like Duke University's Myers, BRC's chief consultant to NASCAR, James V. Benedict, has a Ph.D. in engineering and a medical degree. Benedict's primary partner, James H. Raddin Jr., holds a medical degree and a master of science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Chuck Merrill, vice president of operations at BRC, would neither confirm nor deny that his firm is involved. “I have no comment on that,” Merrill said.

Nebraska's safety center is in charge of the car-crash part of the investigation, led by Dr. Dean Sicking, who has a Ph.D. in engineering. Sicking has not returned phone calls.

A third organization, Autoliv, a Swedish-based manufacturer of automobile safety equipment with a major research and testing center in Auburn Hills, Mich., has been conducting various car-crash and crash-dummy testing as requested and/or directed by Benedict, Raddin and Sicking, according to sources.

The investigation will complement NASCAR's ongoing study of other safety measures, such as energy-absorbing walls, the use of “black box” crash recorders, and the addition of a specialized traveling medical team. It's unknown whether these topics will be part of the Aug..21 report.

No mandate on restraints

In addition, NASCAR hasn't decided to mandate head-restraint devices.

Since Earnhardt's death, more than 75.percent of drivers in NASCAR's elite Winston Cup series have begun wearing head-restraint devices - either the HANS (“head and neck support”) system or the “Hutchens” (which in testing has proved adequate, but not as effective as the HANS). The notable exception is Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Also since Earnhardt's death, six drivers - Jeff Gordon, Ward Burton, Michael Waltrip, Roy “Buckshot” Jones, Elton Sawyer and Earnhardt's teammate, Mike Skinner - have survived crashes at angles known to be conducive to basilar skull fracture. All wore a type of head-and-neck restraint.

‘Very thorough' probe

Dr. Steve Olvey, medical director of Championship Auto Racing Teams Inc., wasn't involved in the investigation and has been critical in the past of NASCAR but now praises the organization's thoroughness.

“It's my understanding that NASCAR is doing a very thorough and complete investigation of the crash, similar to what the NTSB [National Transportation Safety Board] does with airplane crashes,” said Olvey, who also is an associate professor of neurosurgical intensive care at the University of Miami medical school. “So there may be more information that comes to light as a result of the investigation. But I think the final analysis of the cause of death is going to be consistent with what Dr. Myers reported.”

Among Myers' most significant findings was that Earnhardt's head would have whipped violently forward and down, regardless of whether the belt broke during the crash. Based on bruising to Earnhardt's lower-left abdomen and other factors, Myers concluded that the belt did its job, holding at least until after the fatal head whip had occurred.

The head whip, he also found, caused two types of basilar skull fracture: inertial head “loading,” or separation stress on the base of the skull, and a violent strike of the underside of Earnhardt's chin on the steering wheel as his head moved downward.

The consensus of experts is that the exact motions of Earnhardt's head could not have occurred unless his safety harness held.

“Everything tells us the drivers are getting killed because their heads are coming off [not literally, but straining to come off due to G-forces] - because the body stops and the head doesn't,” said an expert source familiar with the fatal injury pattern in NASCAR. In Earnhardt's case, “The belt did its job well enough to cause the basal skull fracture.”

“We know definitively that we had chest restraint in this case,” said another expert. “There's nothing about this case that points to the belt as somehow having caused it [the fatal injury to Earnhardt].”

The seat-belt controversy was stoked by EMT Propst, a rescuer on the scene after Earnhardt's crash. Propst told the Sentinel that the driver's seat belt - part of a five-belt safety harness - was intact when he reached into the car to unlatch it.

But, according to a source close to the investigation, “If you recreated this [the situation moments after the crash], you would see why he said what he said - because he didn't know the belt was broken.”

NASCAR has re-enacted the crash as part of the investigation, but Propst said he did not participate on advice of his attorney, because NASCAR would not allow the re-enactment to be videotaped.

Propst could have felt tension from all of the four belts that remained intact, but especially from the right side belt, which came under stress when he pulled the latch toward the left side of Earnhardt's body, sources said.

Propst on Thursday night remained adamant that he felt tension on the left lap belt as he jerked on the belt release. He disputes NASCAR's suggestions that he was not in a position to feel tension on the left lap belt.

“That's wrong,” Propst said. “I said the left one was tight and I pulled and jerked on it both ways.”

Focus may turn to cars

In the long run, the controversy over Earnhardt's seat belt may not prove as significant as the questions about how NASCAR race cars are built.

Two Detroit automakers are handling elements of a research-and-development effort to improve NASCAR safety.

Ford Motor Co., with the occupant-restraint part, is working to develop a cocoon-like seat made of composite fibers. Last week Ford formally recommended to NASCAR that drivers begin using the composite seats, which help manage body movement in crashes. General Motors is participating in the car-structure part of the Detroit effort.

Engineer Tom Gideon, GM's racing-safety manager, said the front ends of NASCAR cars “could be improved, and I think we're going to work on ways of doing that.”

Rigid structure in the fronts of cars has been cited as a possible cause of G-spikes - the result of abrupt impacts - that kill drivers. But the concern is now focusing on the roughly 2 feet of mostly empty space between the nose of the cars and the heavy engine blocks.

In that space, only the radiator and some lightweight bars to support bodywork provide any crush resistance. So engineers think the real culprit may be the engine block - that the cars smash too quickly until the crushing reaches the engine. At that point, they think, the engine offers too much resistance and stops the crash too suddenly, transferring enormous G-spikes through the rigid tubular steel roll cages to drivers' bodies.

“We're looking for more energy-efficient ways to manage the whole crush sequence” of crashes, Gideon said.

As for changes, “I think it's very likely,” said Gideon, that crush resistance will be increased in the fronts of the cars, probably with energy-absorbent materials in the now-barren areas. But, he added, “I wouldn't think we're going to get anything [new] in the cars this year, as far as structure. I'm just being realistic. I think it's a long-term project.”

Meanwhile, Gideon points out, “You don't see anybody getting hurt with the HANS on.”

Ed Hinton can be reached at ehinton@tribune.com.

Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/motorracing/orl-asec-nascar081001.story?coll=orl%2Dhome%2Dheadlines

top

Friday August 10, 2001 3:07 PM ET

Earnhardt Probe Finds Car Design Flaws

ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuter) - Investigators have concluded that safety problems in the design of the car and not a broken seat belt caused the death of Dale Earnhardt (news - web sites) at the Daytona 500, the Orlando Sentinel reported on Friday.

Citing ``reliable sources close to the investigation'' who requested anonymity, the newspaper said the four-month probe essentially confirmed the findings of an expert who determined Earnhardt died of a sudden head-whip when his car hit a wall on February 18.

The newspaper said NASCAR (news - web sites) officials had declined to comment on the findings and it was unclear what NASCAR would do with them.

NASCAR has declined to divulge the identity of its experts or the results until the investigation is complete. The report is scheduled to be released on August 21 in Atlanta.

Even before Earnhardt's crash, the Sentinel had run a lengthy three-part series critical of NASCAR safety in light of the recent deaths of three drivers due to basal skull fractures similar to the one he would sustain.

AUTOPSY DISPUTE

The newspaper also became directly involved in a dispute with the driver's widow.

At the time of Earnhardt's death, a Florida sunshine law allowed anyone to look at autopsy photographs, but his widow Teresa obtained a court order restraining the viewing of photos of his body.

The Sentinel fought that restraining order, went to mediation and as a result was allowed to have an expert, Barry Myers, review the autopsy photos and make a report.

Myers said the seat belt, even if it had been broken in the crash, did not cause the fatal injury. Rather, a violent forward motion straining to separate the head from the neck caused death, he said.

HEAD-RESTRAINT DEVICES

Since Earnhardt's death, a significant majority of drivers in NASCAR's top-level Winston Cup series have begun wearing head-restraint devices.

The Sentinel said six drivers wearing such devices -- Jeff Gordon, Ward Burton, Michael Waltrip, Roy 'Buckshot' Jones, Elton Sawyer and Earnhardt's team mate, Mike Skinner -- have since survived crashes at angles conducive to the kind of skull fracture that apparently killed Earnhardt.

The most far-reaching independent inquiry in NASCAR's 52-year history found three key points, the Sentinel's sources said.

-- the race cars built by teams and inspected by NASCAR lack sufficient crush resistance in the front ends to protect drivers in crashes. Redesigning probably will be recommended, the Sentinel said, with energy-absorbent bumpers and the aluminum-foam 'crush box' currently under development.

-- Earnhardt's fatal skull fracture will not be blamed on a broken seat belt. NASCAR announced five days after Earnhardt's death that a broken seat belt had been found in the car, and Daytona International Speedway physician Steve Bohannon offered the theory, later withdrawn, that the breaking of the belt caused Earnhardt to hit his head on the steering wheel.

-- emergency medical technician Tommy Propst might have incorrectly concluded that Earnhardt's lap belt was intact when he arrived at the crash scene.

The Sentinel said according to its sources Biodynamic Research Corp. of San Antonio was investigating the body movement in Earnhardt's death while the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln was probing the car crash.

The newspaper said Autoliv, a Swedish-based manufacturer of automobile safety equipment with a research and testing center in Auburn Hills, Michigan, was assisting in the investigation.

The companies declined to confirm or deny any involvement.

One other by-product of the crash was not mentioned in the latest Sentinel story.

After the seat belt was blamed, the founder of seat belt maker Simpson Performance Products, Bill Simpson, received death threats and resigned his position.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010810/sp/nascar_earnhardt_dc.html

top

AUG 10, 2001

NASCAR Probe Finds Safety Problems

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 12:05 a.m. ET

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The NASCAR investigation of Dale Earnhardt's fatal wreck has found that cars aren't safe enough in crashes, but it does not blame a broken seat belt for the death of the racing great, the Orlando Sentinel reported Friday.

The investigation also essentially confirms the findings of the court-appointed independent expert who determined Earnhardt died of a sudden head-whip when his car hit the wall Feb. 18 on the final lap of the Daytona 500, sources close to the investigation told Sentinel auto racing writer Ed Hinton on condition of anonymity.

NASCAR told The Associated Press that the stock car sanctioning body would have no comment on the story or any other speculation before the release of its report Aug. 21.

NASCAR president Mike Helton and chairman Bill France Jr. declined to comment to the Sentinel. It also was unclear what NASCAR will do with the results of the findings.

The four-month investigation has been the most far-reaching independent inquiry in NASCAR's 52-year history. The Sentinel reported three key points from the investigation based on the information provided by the sources:

-- NASCAR race cars, built by racing teams and inspected by NASCAR, don't have enough crush resistance in the front ends to adequately protect drivers in crashes. Redesigning probably will be recommended, with energy-absorbent bumpers and the aluminum-foam ``crush box'' under development.

-- Earnhardt's fatal skull fracture will be not be blamed on a broken seat belt. Investigators have essentially confirmed the findings of Dr. Barry Myers, the independent expert appointed to settle a lawsuit between the Sentinel and Earnhardt's widow, Teresa. Myers in April found that Earnhardt died of a violent forward head whip. He said the seat belt, made by Simpson Performance Products, would not have caused the fatal injury even if it had been broken in the crash.

Bill Simpson, head of the Charlotte, N.C.-based company, resigned last month, saying the stress of the controversy ``got to be too much.''

-- Emergency medical technician Tommy Propst might have incorrectly concluded that Earnhardt's lap belt was intact when he arrived at the crash scene.

Earnhardt's death was the fourth in NASCAR in a nine-month span and focused national attention on the organization's record on driver safety.

Five days after Earnhardt's death, NASCAR announced a broken seat belt had been found in Earnhardt's car. Dr. Steve Bohannon, a physician employed by Daytona International Speedway, theorized that the breakage of the belt caused Earnhardt's head to move forward and strike the steering wheel, causing his fatal injury. But Myers concluded April 9 that the belt in April that the belt, even if it broke during the crash, didn't cause Earnhardt's death.

That same day, NASCAR announced an expanded investigation using ``internationally acclaimed experts'' and promised the results in August. Bohannon later recanted his theory, deferring to Myers' expertise.

NASCAR has refused to divulge the identity of its experts or the results until the investigation is complete.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/sports/AP-CAR-Earnhardt-Investigation.html

top