Case overview

An electrical utility truck was driving on a rural road on its way to a maintenance call. It crashed into a washout across the roadway, injuring both the driver and passenger. Few photographs and no measurements were taken of the accident scene.

By the time we were contacted to investigate, flooding had dramatically altered the landscape, leaving no physical evidence of the accident. Our client wanted to determine the speed of the vehicle and whether its driver could have seen the ditch in time to avoid the accident. Using a powerful on-site photographic analysis technique called reverse projection photogrammetry, we determined the locations of the road washout and the tire marks made by the braking truck. Combining this information with data from occupant injuries and witness testimony, we successfully accomplished a quantitative analysis.