title: Suicide of a cyclist.
abstract: The rate of suicides in road traffic fatalities is estimated at 1-8% depending on the investigated study material. Especially single-car accidents, for which no technical reason or driving error is apparent, are considered suspicious. The elucidation of suicides in road traffic is difficult if there are no relevant clues such as the announcement of suicide plans shortly before the event or a suicide note. Individuals who intentionally kill themselves in road traffic often have a history of mental illness. The authors report on a suicide using a bicycle. A 71-year-old man intentionally drove into the wall of a house situated at the end of a hill road and suffered an open craniocerebral trauma and an aortic rupture. The pattern of findings and the circumstances of the case are described.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Legal Medicine, Freiburg University Medical Center, Albertstr. 9, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. ulrike.schmidt@uniklinik-freiburg.de
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rost
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jungmann
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pollak
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001011:Aorta / Q000293:injuries / Q000473:pathology; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries*; D058734:Exsanguination / Q000209:etiology; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D050815:Fractures, Compression / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D005597:Fractures, Open / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012421:Rupture; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D013405:Suicide