Vehicle‐assisted suicidal strangulation: A case report and literature review

Abstract

Vehicle‐assisted suicidal strangulation is an unusual method of suicide where the victim completes suicide by pulling a ligature tied around their neck using the acceleration of the vehicle they are driving. This report describes a case of a 48‐year‐old man who completed suicide by tying a rope to his neck and to a parked tractor, then using his car to pull the rope. The on‐scene investigation found the body a few meters from his car, which was still running, and a snapped rope tied to a tractor nearby. The autopsy revealed a bruised, encircling ligature mark with underlying injuries to the neck organs and a fracture of the hyoid bone and the C2 vertebra. Additionally, a laceration of the left parietal region was identified. A literature search identified 17 other cases of vehicle‐assisted ligature strangulation, which were compared to the present one to identify common autopsy and on‐scene findings. These cases usually involve high‐intensity forces, which can cause severe wounds atypical for suicidal strangulation and result in messy, puzzling death scenes. As such, this case highlights a rare method of suicide and emphasizes the need for both forensic pathologists and police officers to be aware of this method to avoid misinterpretation of the on‐scene and autopsy findings.