As a result of a violent, head-on collision between a 1971 Chevrolet Impala and a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass, six-allegedly-restrained occupants of the Oldsmobile Cutlass sustained fatal injuries. The three occupants of the Chevrolet Impala were unrestrained and survived the crash. The two rightside passengers were completely ejected and the driver was partially ejected from the Impala. These most unusual circumstances of ejected occupants surviving a collision while restrained occupants were killed, gave rise to much adverse media coverage concerning the benefits of restraint use. This paper summarizes the results of an in-depth investigation of the case collision undertaken by the University of Western Ontario Multi-Disciplinary Accident Research Team and the Road and Motor Vehicle Traffic Safety Branch of Transport Canada. The extent of the physical trauma sustained by the vehicle occupants is discussed in terms of the collision severity, injury mechanisms and the performance of the occupant restraint systems.

The testimony of investigating police, Coroner and witnesses was eventually found to be in conflict with detailed, irrefutable physical evidence that the driver and right-front passenger in the Cutlass were, in fact, unrestrained. Further analysis established that the lap-belted, centrefront passenger sustained massive head injuries from contact with the intruding hood of the vehicle.

Detailed laboratory analysis of the restraint systems revealed that the three, rear-seat passengers sustained massive, lap-belt-induced, abdominal trauma as a result of improper wearing of the restraint systems in association with very high collision forces.