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- 52
Bobby's death in the season 8 cliffhanger, Swan Song, raises questions about what exactly killed him. Katherine struck him with her car, making contact with his side. He then rolled over the car, landed on his back and finally turned onto his front.
Katherine's car accelerated from a standstill over a distance that appears no more than 50 metres before it hits him, Some of the car journey is shown in slow motion but it appears to take around 15 seconds in total. Using Newton's Laws of Motion and applying basic kinematics, her speed at impact would only have been around 15 mph. At that speed, the impact force would likely have been insufficient to cause fatal injuries. Furthermore, the point of impact was the side of his leg, an area unlikely to sustain a lethal blow
Rolling over the car would likely have resulted in only minor bruising and cuts. The primary impact would have occurred when Bobby struck the pavement. Landing on his back and bottom would have distributed the force, mitigating potential injuries. While broken ribs leading to punctured lungs or a ruptured spleen are possible, they are improbable. His ability to speak before death indicates functional lungs. Furthermore, given the presence of witnesses there was likely to have been rapid medical intervention for a ruptured spleen, such as a splenectomy, and this would probably have prevented fatality.
There is no evidence to suggest a significant head injury. The cuts visible on his forehead and face while on his deathbed likely resulted from rolling over the top of the car or, more probably, from when he turned over after hitting the ground. In either scenario, these injuries would have been superficial.
Therefore, the injuries realistically attributable to Katherine's knocking him down would likely have been survivable.
I was knocked down by a speeding car when I was 8. I was more vulnerable due to my age and the car was travelling considerably faster that Katherine's and I only had minor injuries, mainly on my leg where the car hit me.
Katherine's car accelerated from a standstill over a distance that appears no more than 50 metres before it hits him, Some of the car journey is shown in slow motion but it appears to take around 15 seconds in total. Using Newton's Laws of Motion and applying basic kinematics, her speed at impact would only have been around 15 mph. At that speed, the impact force would likely have been insufficient to cause fatal injuries. Furthermore, the point of impact was the side of his leg, an area unlikely to sustain a lethal blow
Rolling over the car would likely have resulted in only minor bruising and cuts. The primary impact would have occurred when Bobby struck the pavement. Landing on his back and bottom would have distributed the force, mitigating potential injuries. While broken ribs leading to punctured lungs or a ruptured spleen are possible, they are improbable. His ability to speak before death indicates functional lungs. Furthermore, given the presence of witnesses there was likely to have been rapid medical intervention for a ruptured spleen, such as a splenectomy, and this would probably have prevented fatality.
There is no evidence to suggest a significant head injury. The cuts visible on his forehead and face while on his deathbed likely resulted from rolling over the top of the car or, more probably, from when he turned over after hitting the ground. In either scenario, these injuries would have been superficial.
Therefore, the injuries realistically attributable to Katherine's knocking him down would likely have been survivable.
I was knocked down by a speeding car when I was 8. I was more vulnerable due to my age and the car was travelling considerably faster that Katherine's and I only had minor injuries, mainly on my leg where the car hit me.
