It takes powerful forces to crack the human skull and threaten its precious cargo, the brain. But death can come instantly when strong forces threaten a main nerve thoroughfare called the brain stem. Doctors think that is probably what happened to Dale Earnhardt after he crashed his car Sunday into a concrete wall at 180 mph on the final lap of the Daytona 500. His car stopped on impact, his body was held in place by restraints, but his head whipped forward with catastrophic energy. In such accidents, the nerve fibers inside the brain stem can be stretched, crushed or snapped.
Death can be instantaneous.
There is no pain, and no moment of realization that death is imminent. You are dead before you have the chance to realize it. Such injuries are called basilar skull fractures - which refers to cracks in the bottom portion of the skull that cradles the brain. They often occur to people who are not wearing seat belts during a car accident. They might get thrown into a windshield or flung from the vehicle.