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.
"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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