The war continues, and the demolition derby at Martinsville.
The War Continues....... A new Battle Begins
It appears that Teresa Earnhardt's woes are continuing. Florida Circuit Judge Joseph Will has allowed a student newspaper to challenge the constitutionality of the Dale Earnhardt Act. The Independent Florida Alligator, published by University of Florida students, wants to gain access to the autopsy photos.
Judge Will's reasoning for his decision, as quoted from a story on the Fox Sports site, "Individual and personal privacy rights are in conflict with public records law, we need to resolve that sooner or later."
The Orlando Sentinel used the excuse of wanting to contribute to the driver safety issue as a reason for viewing the photos. There is no value in determining driver safety by viewing autopsy photos. But, is there value in the viewing of the racecar? It seems to me that the racecar would be the key in determining the cause of Dale's demise that could contribute to future rules concerning driver safety. I find it very strange that no one has gone to the courts in an effort to gain access to the racecar.
This tells us that the only reasoning behind the efforts of these publications is self-gratification, morbidity, or both. They just want to do something to make themselves look good within the publishing community. They apparently have no feelings for the Earnhardt family, racing personnel, race fans, or anyone else. And the sad fact is, that the only people that will benefit from this whole fiasco are the lawyers who will get rich from the Earnhardt family's pain and the publication's self gratifying obsessions.
Then there is the story that I read in the Winston Cup Scene written by Deb Williams, that reports Daytona Beach police detective Robert Walker was told by superiors not to attend Dale Earnhardt's autopsy or to take pictures of the inside of the number three racecar. Walker reported that previous police procedures were abandoned, and that detectives were blocked from making inquiries. It was not reported where the initial orders to abandon the police investigation came from. Earnhardt's helmet and drivers suit were given to the family immediately after the crash, and have not been examined by NASCAR, the police, or the Volusia County medical examiner's office.
It is common knowledge that the helmet of a driver who dies in a head injury related crash is a key piece of evidence that needs to be examined by experts. NASCAR officials are still very tight lipped about their investigation and their findings after having their experts examine the racecar. Recent press releases by the sanctioning body allude that it could be more than a couple of months before any concrete findings are made public. It is very obvious that something is being covered up.
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