The Death of Dale Earnhardt
(and the resultant debate over the autopsy photos)
JCH
March 18, 2001

Most of the those that know me well would never have suspected that I am a closet NASCAR fan. Well guess what. I'm not. I stopped getting any enjoyment from watching NASCAR at about the same time that I started at Barr Street Junior High. I grew out of it. Some people didn't. And I'm not here to question why grown men would want to watch a group of cars run around in circles. It's a free world, baby. And let's face it, NASCAR makes a lot more sense than watching and playing hockey. Or soccer. And tennis.

But I did keep up with events in the racing world through Gerry Valancourt's WBT radio talk show and highlights on ESPN. I knew Earnhardt was to racing what Michael Jordan was to basketball. There are a few athletes out there who still know that the reason to play the game is simple: to win. Every time they step foot onto the court or every time they climb into that car, you know that their one goal is to win at any cost. They didn't call him The Intimidator for anything.

You have to respect men and women like that in this day and age. Because they're not a lot of them left.

NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt looks out of the garage at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., in this Feb. 9, 2001 photo. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

But a greater debate has raged since the death of Earnhardt that affects all of us. The Orlando Sentinel wanted to view the autopsy photos of Earnhardt as the paper is planning an expose into NASCAR safety. They wanted their own medical experts to look over the photos and study the notes of the coroners to come to their own conclusion how he died. Knowing that, they argued, would help all NASCAR drivers, especially if it turns out that NASCAR is not doing all it can on driver safety.

An uproar ensued. Suddenly it became that the Orlando Sentinel wanted to run photos of the dead man on the front cover for the whole world to see in some kind of National Enquirer way. Images of Elvis in a coffin in those dirty tabloids ran through the minds of some.

Add into the mix a family still in shock over their loss and a large and vocal base of race fans who viewed this request with skepticism and disdain. Suddenly this was a civics lesson playing out on the news and sports talk radio.

And I must say that almost everyone got it wrong.

Except for me, of course.

In this case the families need for privacy is overwhelmed by the publics right to know. Go back almost forty years to when the autopsy photos of a recently assassinated president were with held from public view. Only when they were finally released (and with the subsequent viewing of the famous Zapruder film) did we as a nation finally begin questioning in earnest the possibility that the Warren Omission (not a typo) lied to us.

It could happen again. In fact, if autopsy photos are routinely held in secret, it will happen. And it could happen to your family.

Look. No one wants to see Dale Earnhardt in death. (Except for those creepy web sites that put up death photos of such people as Kurt Cobain and Lady Di.) But these photos and the photos of all autopsies need to be public domain. In this day and age, we don't need to give anyone more power. When we're having more and more people on death row being found innocent of the crimes they were convicted of, the last thing we need to do is make it easier for someone to hide information we may think is an invasion of privacy.

But of course now you're having politicians all over the country knee jerking to propose laws that would limit who gets to see these photos. This is easy for them. They gauge public reaction and then decide how to legislate from there. Jeb Bush, the brother of the president and governor of Florida, is leading this cause.

Here is a little more of the story which you may not have been told:

About 18 months ago, the Sentinel hired Ed Hinton, one of the most prominent racing writers in the country. Among his first projects was a comprehensive package about safety in motor sports. It took nearly six months of reporting.

A week before Daytona 500 in which Earnhardt was tragically killed, the Sentinel published a three-part series that took an unflinching look at safety in the sport and the way its sanctioning bodies dealt with it. Among the conclusions was that, of all the sanctioning bodies, NASCAR, which operates the top stock car racing circuits, seemed to be the most secretive, most unresponsive and least likely to adopt safety measures that had been proven to save lives.

Dale Earnhardt (3) hits the wall while getting hit by Ken Schrader (36) during the Daytona 500 on Sunday Feb. 18, 2001 in Daytona Beach, Fla. Unlike his fellow competitors, who didn't learn Earnhardt was dead until some time after the accident, Schrader knew the severity of the situation the second he poked his head into Earnhardt's battered car and saw his lifeless body. (AP Photo/Bob Sweeten)

The Sentinel also reported that a device used to protect the heads and necks of drivers - the Head And Neck Support (HANS) device - could have saved the lives of seven NASCAR drivers who appear to have died of basilar skull fractures and similar injuries in the past 10 years.

A basilar skull fracture occurs when the head whips forward violently, essentially separating the base of the skull from the spinal cord. Among those whose deaths could have been prevented, the newspaper reported, were Kenny Irwin and Adam Petty, two of three NASCAR drivers killed in 2000.

The Sentinel wants to know whether Earnhardt's death might also have been preventable.

On the final lap of the Daytona 500, Earnhardt's black Chevrolet crashed into the wall on Turn 4 at an estimated 170 mph. The autopsy said Earnhardt had a skull fracture that ran from the front to the back of his head. No attempt was made to determine whether a HANS device would have saved him.

The next week, NASCAR announced that Earnhardt's seatbelt broke, causing his face to slam against the steering wheel. In 52 years of auto racing, such a seatbelt malfunction never had happened. Even before this revelation, Dr. Steve Bohannon, the attending physician at the accident and a contracted employee at Daytona International Speedway, said he doubted a HANS device would have saved Earnhardt. The seatbelt malfunction strengthened his belief.

Unconvinced, the Sentinel planned for a head trauma expert to look at the autopsy photos and try to determine the cause of the skull fracture.

Within days, Mrs. Earnhardt went to court to prevent release of the photos, which led to a judge calling for the mediation that resulted in Friday's agreement. In an emotional statement March 4, Mrs. Earnhardt relayed her fears.

``I want to let you know that if access to the photos is allowed, others will demand them, too,'' she said. ``And make no mistake, sooner or later the photos will end up unprotected and published ... and most certainly on the Internet.''

Indeed, one Web site is pushing for unfettered access to the photos.

But the newspaper stated all along that it has no intention of publishing the photos.

``We understand how, at first blush, this may look ghoulish to some,'' Sentinel editor Tim Franklin said. ``But there's really a crisis in safety in NASCAR. If there had been four deaths in nine months in the NFL or boxing, there would be more inquiries than you can imagine.''

A loyal and energetic group of NASCAR fans have let their feelings about the Sentinel be known. The newspaper has received about 10,000 e-mails, almost unanimously scolding it. About 40 subscribers canceled their papers.

Mrs. Earnhardt also asked fans to lobby lawmakers to change the law and protect her husband's autopsy photos.

Within days, a Daytona Beach lawmaker introduced a bill that would require a judge to approve the release of any autopsy photos. Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who received 14,000 e-mails on the issue, has vowed his support.

``This is timely legislation,'' said Bush, who talked to Mrs. Earnhardt earlier this month. ``I told her I felt we could craft legislation that protected the traditions of this state in terms of public information when the public interest is at stake, but also be sensitive to the right of privacy as well.''

First Amendment advocates have their doubts.

They have noticed a significant increase in legislation nationwide that calls for limiting access to records and more respect for personal privacy. In some areas, especially with the Internet playing such a major role in society, they support the measures.

But they don't want to see a rush to judgment in the Earnhardt case. They say there are legitimate reasons to request autopsy photos, and they fear the proposed bill will turn every request into a difficult legal process.

Last week, several news organizations released statements supporting the Sentinel and decrying the quick introduction of new legislation.

``If you had to choose between a tribute to Dale Earnhardt and the rights of open records in Florida, that's an easy choice right now,'' said Anders Gyllenhaal, chairman of the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Freedom of Information Committee. ``But 10 years from now, will people see it the same way? It's not the right way to make a tribute to this man.''

Friday's settlement didn't come as much comfort, either.

``What happens is that this will become the standard next time somebody wants to deny you or me access, they'll point to this case,'' said Barbara Petersen, executive director of the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee.

NASCAR fans seem unconcerned. They're getting the exact response they want from lawmakers.

``The majority of fans I've talked to say they would support Jeb Bush because of this,'' Mundy said. ``His popularity has increased 250 percent.''
 

Sources for this rant include:
Saturday March 17 12:16 PM ET Auto Tragedy Becomes Privacy Issue By EDDIE PELLS, AP Sports Writer

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