Doctor: FW hit-and-run victim bled to death from broken legs
Posted on 03/11/2002 2:42:40 AM PST by MeekOneGOP
Doctor: FW hit-and-run victim bled to death from broken legs
03/11/2002
FORT WORTH - A homeless man hit by a car and then left to die in the driver's garage, still lodged in the windshield, may have clung to life for awhile if the blood loss was slow, a medical expert says.
Dr. Raymond Fowler, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, said how long Gregory Glenn Biggs lived after he was struck also depended on his health and severity of injuries.
"Certainly with both legs broken, several liters could have bled into the tissue," said Fowler, who is not involved with the case. "If his legs were up (over the roof), rather than down, the bleeding would have occurred more slowly because the heart would have to pump blood upward."
Chante J. Mallard, charged with murder, was expected to post the $250,000 bail and be released Monday from the Tarrant County Jail.
Mallard, 25, told police she went into the garage and apologized to the victim several times but was not sure how long he lived, according to her arrest affidavit. Biggs was not in her garage more than 24 hours before his body was dumped in a park, according to Mallard's confession.
But authorities, citing medical reports and a tipster's information, say Biggs begged for help but received none as he bled to death over the next two or three days.
Dr. Nizam Peerwani, Tarrant County medical examiner, told police Biggs suffered facial cuts and broken legs but had no internal injuries that would have caused his death, according to an affidavit.
Biggs' body was found Oct. 27. Police had no leads until a tipster came forward two weeks ago, saying Mallard talked about the crash at a party.
State District Judge James R. Wilson has issued a gag order in the case.
Fowler, also an attending faculty member at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, said any broken bone bleeds into surrounding tissue, which isn't life-threatening when someone gets medical attention.
With one broken thigh bone, someone can lose up to 2 liters of blood into the tissue, he said. The average-size adult has 5 liters of blood in his or her system. There is less blood loss with smaller bones.
People go into deep shock when the body's circulatory status is insufficient to sustain life when 40 percent to 50 percent of their blood is lost, Fowler said.
Hemorrhaging from broken bones in the lower extremities tends to be slower, he said.
But Fowler said he cannot guess whether Biggs died shortly after the impact or much later because of unknown factors.
"This man obviously took a significant amount of trauma," Fowler said.
I sometimes wish that we lived in a world where certain facts (like who people voted for) which in this reality are unknowable with certainty, could be determined with the press of a button.
Then we could gamble on them.
Sure, you'd have to bet all that you own against a cheeseburger, fries and Coke that Miz Mallard voted for algore, if indeed she voted at all...
But it'd be a slam-dunk, taking candy from a baby lunch if you could find someone to take the bet.
It is a bizarre story, and it's a true story too. Your post reminds me, I meant to post links to prior articles on this story that broke last Thursday.
Windshield death suspect back in jail - Bail raised
to $250,000 - Informant Receives Death Threats
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/643306/posts
FR Search: "Windshield"
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/latest?forum=news&ao=1&s=Windshield
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