A fatal case of accidental cerebral injury due to power drill.

An unusual fatal case of an accidental craniocerebral penetrating wound due to a power drill is described. A 25-year-old man fell from a stepladder while perforating a ceiling with a drill to arrange the lights for New Year's Day. During the fall the drill penetrated the right upper jaw, passed through the orbit, the ethmoid and the sphenoid bones, tearing the left internal carotid artery, the left cavernal sinus, and the left base nuclei. Death was due to inhalation of blood and atelectasis. The skin wound was an atypical puncture wound similar to bullet entrance wound.