The collision threw Earnhardt's body in the same direction as the impact, hurling his head and neck toward the concrete wall. In his report, he wrote that Earnhardt's injuries reflected a very severe high-speed crash that resulted when he lost control of his speeding racecar and swerved first to his left and then to his right, sliding up the race track into the concrete wall.

Myers, an expert in head and neck injuries, reviewed the photos for about 30 minutes at the Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office on March 26. His selection was agreed to by both sides. The newspaper, which vowed not to print the photos, sought permission for a medical expert to evaluate the pictures to see if better safety equipment might have saved the racer's life and to evaluate NASCAR's seat-belt theory.Īlthough the court challenge outraged NASCAR fans and prompted state lawmakers to remove autopsy photos from the list of Florida's public records, it produced a settlement allowing Myers, an independent medical expert, to see the photos. The Orlando Sentinel went to court to gain access to Earnhardt's autopsy photos after his wife persuaded a Volusia County judge to seal them. He speculated that the force of the blow cracked the base of Earnhardt's skull and caused massive head injuries. Steve Bohannon, who worked on Earnhardt after the crash, said he thought the faulty belt allowed Earnhardt's head to strike the steering wheel of his Chevrolet. In a news conference five days later, NASCAR officials announced that a seat belt had broken in Earnhardt's car.ĭaytona International Speedway Dr.

NASCAR had no comment on Myers' report, which was released later Monday afternoon.Įarnhardt, a seven-time Winston Cup champion, crashed on the final turn of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 'Everyone involved in this process is committed to a sense of urgency, but we must also move forward in a thorough, careful and complete manner,' said a statement by NASCAR president Mike Helton.

Myers' report, which proposed further study of head protection for NASCAR drivers, came only hours after the racing organization announced it had commissioned its own experts to reconstruct Earnhardt's accident.

Does snapping a neck kill instantly