title: A multitask scientific investigation resolved an unusual road crash case.
abstract: Crime or accident scenes are sometimes almost unbelievable. Elements of the scene can be so strange that a reconstruction of the event is almost impossible. What can the investigator do in such a case? The only solution is to collect all the evidence and samples, even if they appear useless, and send them to specialised laboratories. Scientific data are held in high esteem by the law and court proceedings consequent on crashes will almost certainly require analytical results of one sort or another to be presented as evidence. The case presented is one of those strange and almost unbelievable cases with little physical evidence, no eyewitnesses and the almost fortuitous collection of one unique, incredibly small, sample. The prosecutor's decision to instruct unusual but appropriate experts turned out to be successful.
authors.affiliation: Servizio Prevenzione e Protezione, C.N.R., Corso Stati Uniti 4, 35020 Padova, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rella
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sturaro
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Casellato
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zernar