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Monday, February 19
HANS might not have helped
Associated Press
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Dale Earnhardt died of blunt force
injuries to the head, according to an autopsy completed Monday. But
Dr. Thomas Parsons did not attempt to determine if a head and neck
brace could have saved Earnhardt's life.
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Sending your remembrances
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The Earnhardt family has asked that instead of flowers, donations can be sent to the Foundation for the Carolinas, a
nonprofit philanthropic organization. The address is:
Foundation for the Carolinas
In Honor of Dale Earnhardt
P.O. Box 34769
Charlotte, N.C. 28234-4769
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"We are not able to say" if the device worn by some drivers
would have saved Earnhardt, Volusia County spokesman Dave Byron
said of the Head And Neck Support (HANS) apparatus.
Only about a half-dozen drivers wore the U-shaped device in
Sunday's Daytona 500. The brace keeps the head and neck from
snapping forward on impact, perhaps preventing skull and neck
fractures. Earnhardt and most other drivers shunned it as bulky and
uncomfortable.
The 49-year-old Earnhardt died instantly after losing control of
his car on the final lap and slamming head-on into a concrete wall
at 180 mph.
Earnhardt had a skull fracture that ran from the front to the
back of his head, according to the autopsy. The impact also
fractured his sternum, eight ribs on the left side and his left
ankle. The report said there was a blow to the back of the head,
but did not indicate any broken neck vertebrae.
The final autopsy report will not be available for several
weeks, pending the completion of routine blood and toxicology
tests, Byron said.
"We don't expect that those will show anything," he said.
Three NASCAR drivers, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin and truck racer
Tony Roper, died last year of injuries similar to Earnhardt's.
Earnhardt's body was being released to the family later Monday,
first going to a local funeral home, Byron said.
Plans for services were pending.
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