Photo Sequence of Luge Crash of Kumaritashvili: Head Strikes Beam

This clear photo sequence of luge crash shows precisely how Nodar Kumaritashvili's head strikes the metal beam. And it may even be more disturbing than video footage of the 89 mph practice run (view luge crash video Here.)

View the four-frame photo sequence of luge crash Here. Photo sequence is below the large photo. You will see exactly how Nodar Kumaritashvili's head strikes the thick metal support beam, and you will also realize that it was only by chance, that Nodar Kumaritashvili's head made contact with the metal support structure. There are several of these beams in place, and on another day, another hour, another practice run, the luger could have suffered the same flip off his sled, but ended up flying between the metal beams.

Or, by chance, Nodar Kumaritashvili's shoulder could have made the brunt of the contact with the metal beam, thereby sparing him his life. The video footage happens way too fast to make sense just what happens, and it's also shot at a head-on angle, so that the row of beams partially blocks the view of the luge crash. Even if the video of the luge crash were to be slowed down, it would still be impossible to discern what happens with Nodar Kumaritashvili's form as he crashes.

I have viewed the luge crash video repeatedly. However, the photo sequence of the luge crash is crystal clear, taken from a different angle, one that fully exposes the viewer to a four-stage photo-still of what happens to Nodar Kumaritashvili's airborne body.

The back of his head clearly gets slammed into a metal beam, the helmet making contact with the strcuture. Obviously, the helmet was worthless, considering the velocity was nearly 90 mph. However, it's also possible that Nodar Kumaritashvili died from a broken neck, rather than a head injury. The force of his head hitting the beam at such high speeds could have caused a bone in his cervical column to sever his spinal cord; if this happens high up enough, all autonomic body functions will cease instantly.

If this is what actually happened, then again, by chance, a slightly different angle of the impact could have spared Nodar Kumaritashvili's life, rendering him a quadriplegic, perhaps. The photo sequence of the luge crash is far more telling, in certain respects, than the video of the luge crash. The frame-by-frame photo sequence makes it seem as though Nodar Kumaritashvili had conscious thought, during the crash, of how to control his body. But watch the video; the luge crash happens in fractions of a second, and there was nothing he could have done to alter the outcome once his body came off the sled.