Understanding the Annie Le Tragedy: Traumatic Asphyxiation

Yale student Annie Le who went missing on September 8, 2009 has been reported to have died from traumatic asphyxiation. Many people are wondering exactly what that is and want more information on the topic. The information below will help you understand what happened to the poor grad student.

What is Traumatic Asphyxiation?

Traumatic Asphyxiation is usually used to refer to someone who has been pinned or crushed by a heavy weight. Traumatic Asphyxia is usually referring to a form of compressive asphyxia which occurs when a persons chest is compressed. This usually occurs when people pile on one another, putting their combined weight on the victim, such as during an accident or when trying to escape a dangerous situation. These injuries occur most often when a lot of people are trying to fill a small space like rushing a football field or stage or escaping a burning building.

Information on Traumatic Asphyxiation:

Dr. Marv Birnbaum has a video available online regarding traumatic asphyxiation that is available for public viewing. He discusses the Michigan game, in 1993, known as the Crush in Camp Randall, where there were massive injuries due to traumatic asphyxiation. At least ten of the individuals were injured by this type of asphyxia. He discusses how people, not only the one's trampled, in these types of occurrences received these injuries.

These resources will help as you try and decipher what happened to poor Annie Le, who was found dead inside a Yale research building. For those interested in other similar types of injury, visit the AMA web site.