Hinge skull fractures in pedestrians: Review with three fatalities

Abstract

Hinge fractures typically occur as a result of direct force to the chin, lateral head impacts, or side-to-side compression and are frequently associated with high-velocity collisions involving motorcyclists, commonly referred to as "motorcyclist fractures." This report discusses three cases of hinge fractures identified during the autopsies of pedestrians. In all three cases, the autopsies revealed a hinge fracture extending obliquely through the middle cranial fossa from one lateral side to the other, with no evidence of injuries to the chin. Analyzing the mechanisms underlying these fractures provides valuable insights into the circumstances of the incidents and aids in reconstructing the events leading to the injuries.