Road Fatalities in Children Aged 0–17: Epidemiological Data and Forensic Aspects on a Series of Cases in a Single-Centre in Romania
Ştefania Ungureanu,
Veronica Ciocan,
Camelia-Oana Mureșan,
Emanuela Stan,
Georgiana-Denisa Gavriliţă,
Alexandra Sirmon,
Cristian Pop,
Alexandra Enache
Affiliations
Ştefania Ungureanu
Doctoral School, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Veronica Ciocan
Discipline of Forensic Medicine, Bioethics, Deontology and Medical Law, Department of Neuroscience, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Camelia-Oana Mureșan
Discipline of Forensic Medicine, Bioethics, Deontology and Medical Law, Department of Neuroscience, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Emanuela Stan
Doctoral School, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Georgiana-Denisa Gavriliţă
Doctoral School, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Alexandra Sirmon
“Pius Branzeu” Emergency County Clinical Hospital Timisoara, 156 Liviu Rebreanu Bld., 300723 Timisoara, Romania
Cristian Pop
Department of Mechatronics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University Politehnica Timisoara, 1 Mihai Viteazu Bld., 300222 Timisoara, Romania
Alexandra Enache
Discipline of Forensic Medicine, Bioethics, Deontology and Medical Law, Department of Neuroscience, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy Timisoara, 2 Eftimie Murgu Square, 300041 Timisoara, Romania
Introduction: Road Traffic Accidents (RTAs) are the leading cause of premature death in young people aged 5–29. Globally, 186,300 children aged 9 years and under die from RTAs each year. Romania had the highest mortality rate in children aged 0 to 14 for 2018–2020. This study aimed to assess the involvement of children aged 0–17 years in fatal RTAs by analyzing medico-legal autopsy records in a 5-year period at Timisoara Institute of Legal Medicine (TILM), Romania. Materials and Methods: A retrospective analysis of medico-legal autopsy records of road fatalities in children aged 0–17 years, from TILM in a 5-year period (2017–2021), was conducted. Results: Of all medico-legal autopsies in the 5-year period, 23 cases (5.8%) involved road fatalities in children aged 17 and under. Preschoolers accounted for 10 cases, followed by the age group 15–17 years (n = 9). Most children sustained fatal injuries as passengers (n = 13), followed by child pedestrians (n = 7). This research follows four representative cases, each being a different type of child road fatality regarding the type of road user, the age of the victim, and the involvement of other risk factors. Conclusions: Our findings emphasize the tragedy of road fatalities in children and the need to determine risk factors and prevention strategies to reduce the enormous global crisis involving these vulnerable victims.
