Simulation of hit-and-run road accidents

Abstract

Criminal offences are simulated for manifold reasons and are often associated with the intentional self-infliction of injuries and unrealistic, typically dramatic descriptions of the alleged incident. In the two cases presented here, the injuries were caused accidentally and the motive of the subsequent simulation of a road accident was to divert from previous misconduct.

Case 1

A 33-year-old man was taken to a hospital by his girlfriend with fractures of the pelvis, the left distal lower leg and the metatarsus. According to the friend, the man had been struck and injured by a car as a pedestrian. The driver did not stop after the accident. The physical examination revealed an extensive soft tissue lesion distal to the left inner ankle and on the back of the left foot as well as scratch-like skin lesions on the legs, but no injuries typical of the impact of a car. The external and internal findings were not consistent with the reported collision. Later, the girlfriend admitted that her statements regarding the incident were wrong. According to the police investigations, he sustained the injuries while fleeing after a burglary.

Case 2

An injured 29-year-old woman was found lying on the pavement in front of her house. In the hospital, she stated that she had almost been struck by a van as a pedestrian and had fallen to the ground. She was diagnosed with an open pilon fracture of the right tibia and a fracture of the end plate of the first lumbar vertebra. In view of the findings, the forensic expert expressed doubts as to the alleged fall from a standing position. In an additional interrogation, she admitted that she had jumped from a window of her boyfriend's room on the first floor as she did not want that the fellow occupants got to know about her love affair. In order to cover up the real origin of the injuries, she invented the story of the near-accident and alleged hit-and-run offence.

Conclusion

In both cases the medical findings were not in line with the findings to be expected from the described course of events. In the first case, the traffic accident was simulated to divert from an attempted burglary, in the second case the motive was to prevent the disclosure of an embarrassing love affair.