A detailed case study of 214 fatal fire related crashes was conducted to determine whether the death was caused by the fire or blunt trauma. The cases were also examined to determine the specific crash conditions which caused the fire. This analysis was necessary because none of the existing fatal crash databases contained sufficient details to determine the impact configuration or the cause of death. Two hundred and ninety three (293) fatalities occurred in these crashes. Sixty-five (65) of these fatalities resulted from fire, with 30 of these fatalities from 16 rear impacts. The speed of impact was determined in eight of the 16 cases which caused these 30 burn fatalities. In these eight cases, the average rear impact speed was 54 mph with speeds ranging from 50-60 mph, at 71% overlap (71% of the rear vehicle width engaged), and collinear at 6:00 o'clock. By projecting these cases to the national sample, the number of rear impact fire related fatalities may be estimated between 94 and 191. (A)
Abstract