As part of the FORS 200 - Forensic Seminar guest lecture series, Nebraska State Trooper Pedram Nabegh, a crash scene reconstructionist, came to discuss crash scene reconstruction and present a case study of a scene.
Nabegh indicated that the job involves many physical science concepts that are used to determine the “how” a crash happened, not necessarily the “why”. He works mostly when there has been either a fatality, serious bodily injury, commercial motor vehicle collisions, or when another agency requests his assistance.
Nabegh has a masters degree in forensic science from Nebraska Wesleyan University and has been with the State Patrol since 2005. He noted that professionals in this area need to be forensically trained to find facts and use them to reduce future crashes. Elements that are involved in reconstruction can be: preparation, continual training, response, evidence examination, case investigation, research, reconstruction, report preparation, peer reviews, report submission, and meeting to review findings.
Nabegh brought equipment often used to reconstruct scenes including a Total Station unit used for 3D scanning. He presented a case study that took him 5 months to complete and illustrated how the reconstruction was done from beginning to end.