Today I lost a close family member in a drunk driving accident where they were burned alive. It’s been on my mind, and I keep wondering—would being intoxicated or in shock/adrenaline reduce the pain, or would it still be an excruciating experience? I know this is a dark question, but I can’t stop thinking about it. If anyone has medical or scientific insight, I’d really appreciate it.
For context, this happened around midnight. He blew through a stop sign and crashed deep into the woods. The car flipped over and caught fire. He wasn’t found for a while because the crash happened in a rural, middle-of-nowhere area. As far as I know, they are performing an autopsy to get more information.
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I’d imagine that it would be very excruciating, but I’m not sure how it compares to something like being submerged in icy water with how long you can possibly have before you either go into shock or just flat out die.
Don’t forget about all the layers of muscle, tissue, and nerves you have, too. The fire would have quite a lot to burn through, and if you’re in an enclosed space, you have the smoke to deal with as well depending on the circumstances of the fire (like being deliberately set on fire, getting caught on a loose piece of clothing, or being in a burning car/room).
Firstly, I’m very sorry for your loss and hope you can find peace.
Not medical or an expert, but I’ve read first hand accounts before and remember people saying the adrenaline and shock of what was going on made them, not numb, but not in excruciating pain.
Hope you’re okay mate.
Depends on how drunk he was. If he was pretty wasted, and got dazed or knocked out in the initial crash, before the fire started, he may have not felt a lot of pain.
If he was drunk enough to crash but not blacked out, and not knocked out by the crash itself, it’s possible he experienced some pretty unfortunate levels of pain. Burning alive isn’t pleasant.
If he inhaled a lot of smoke he might have went unconscious before he felt a lot of that’s pain.
Without actually being in the car with him, it’s all just speculation.
Very sorry that happened to you, I saw something similar as a child and it always upset me.
You’d be in alot of pain for a few seconds, then you’d go into shock and suffocate as you can’t get oxygen because the fire is ironing it plus smoke inhalation