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Wednesday, August 22, 2001

Report: Broken belt just one factor in Earnhardt death

By ANDREW LYONS | News-Journal Staff Writer

ATLANTA GA — A broken seat belt was a major factor in NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt's fatal injuries in the Daytona 500, according to a six-month investigation conducted by NASCAR and two independent crash experts.

The probe — the most thorough and far reaching in NASCAR's 53-year history — revealed the seat belt, the collision with another car and the angle and impact of the No. 3 car's contact with the wall all played a role in Earnhardt's Feb. 18 death on the final lap of the race. Experts hired by NASCAR could not determine which element played the deciding role.

"The conclusion is not the easiest conclusion to report," said Dr. James Raddin, one of the lead investigators, at a Tuesday afternoon news conference here. "We conclude that there were a number of factors in which the timing came together to produce this result."

Throughout the two-hour news conference attended by more than 200 members of the media, however, NASCAR President Mike Helton repeatedly forced the focus onto the lap belt.

"We're going to find out everything we can and do everything we can to not have another separated belt," said Helton.

Afterward, the man whose company manufactured the belt, Bill Simpson, fired back that NASCAR's findings were incomplete and his belt should never fail if properly installed.

Simpson's attorneys said the belt did not contain any design or manufacturing defects and it met NASCAR specifications detailed in the official rule book. Simpson has also had two separate investigative reports compiled and forwarded to NASCAR attorneys in Washington, D.C. NASCAR has not responded publicly to those reports.

Simpson's lawyers said Earnhardt refused to heed warnings that he wasn't installing the belt correctly.

"It's important to know, Mr. Simpson told him for years: 'Dale, that's wrong. It's not safe. Don't do it,' " Wyoming-based attorney Robert W. Horn said during a separate news conference downstairs from the NASCAR affair. "He didn't listen to any advice anybody gave him."

Facing a relentless media still hungry for answers surrounding the seven-time Winston Cup champion's death, NASCAR officials came into the conference with the promise of breaking its virtual silence and shedding light on what the sanctioning body learned from its investigation of Earnhardt's crash.

Contrary to published reports from other media agencies, NASCAR did not recommend immediate changes to the design of stock cars so they can better withstand wrecks, nor did it suggest installing soft barriers at the tracks in an effort to help absorb a crash's impact.

"We are not going to react just for the sake of reacting," Helton said, repeating a phrase he used the day after Earnhardt died. "We're going to understand all the ramifications of a change before we make it."

Helton did commit to the following:

— Commissioning a study on seat belt harness systems.

— Installing crash "black boxes" in the cars for the 2002 season that are similar to crash data recorders used in aircraft.

— Hiring a full-time medical liaison who is knowledgeable of drivers' medical histories and will work on-site with track physicians at each venue.

— Hiring a crash expert to spearhead future wreck investigations.

Helton said NASCAR has intensified efforts to convince drivers to find a head and neck restraint device that they feel safe and comfortable using.

Earnhardt wasn't wearing a head and neck restraint when he was killed. NASCAR's investigators said Tuesday it was unclear whether such a device would have saved him.

Since Earnhardt's crash, use of the devices has increased dramatically, with 41 of 43 drivers wearing one in Sunday's race at Michigan International Speedway, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Sterling Marlin, who have long refused to strap on the systems.

The two major independent organizations that led the investigation were Biodynamic Research Corp. of San Antonio and the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. A third group, Autoliv, a Swedish manufacturer of restraint systems with a Michigan research center, also ran tests for NASCAR.

Raddin, of Biodynamic Research, determined Earnhardt's body flew to the right and his helmet rotated when he collided with the No. 36 car of Ken Schrader. His lap belt separated when he slammed into the Turn 4 wall and the base of his skull either struck the steering wheel when he went forward or the seat structure when his body slammed back into the seat.

Speculation has long existed that rescue workers might have cut the belt while trying to free Earnhardt from the car. But Raddin ruled out the possibility, flashing enlarged photos of Earnhardt's belt and pointing out "this was not a cutting of a belt afterward. This was a belt that separated under load."

Raddin explained how the belt broke by showing a computerized video demonstration and displaying detailed photos of Earnhardt's bloody cockpit.

The break resulted from an action referred to as "dumping," in which the webbing of the belt bunches to one end of the adjustment device, making the belt vulnerable to separation under extreme stress.

Raddin concluded the dumping was not caused by anything Earnhardt did inside the car but stopped short of pointing blame as to exactly why the belt broke.

Raddin said he believes the head impact caused Earnhardt's death, an opinion that differs from that of Dr. Barry Myers, an independent medical expert from Duke University who earlier concluded Earnhardt died from the violent whipping motion of his head during the crash, which is common in racing deaths. Myers, who was appointed by a circuit judge in Volusia County to settle a dispute between Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, and the Orlando Sentinel regarding autopsy photos, also concluded the broken lap belt did not play a role in the death. Unlike Raddin, however, Myers had access to the autopsy photos.

A second investigator hired by NASCAR, Dr. Dean Sicking, a leading researcher on barrier and crash safety from the University of Nebraska, found that the car was traveling between 156-161 mph when it hit the wall. He used computer imagery to demonstrate the results of Earnhardt's impact and the exact angles at which his car traveled during the wreck.

Helton said the independent experts provided extensive data about occupant movement in a barrier crash, which will assist race car and restraint system manufacturers in future designs.

"While we may have fallen short at times in our communications, it's my strong belief that we have been responsible in the area of safety," Helton said. "We will continue to approach this with a firm belief that even in the sport where danger is inherent, any single death or serious injury is one too many."

News-Journal wire services contributed to this report.

HICI Special Report — Speedway Safety: NASCAR Addresses Speedway Safety

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