Bob Sands

And there it was, more than 500 miles from the crash site, gathering dust in a garage in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wow. My God.

And there it was, more than 500 miles from the crash site, gathering dust in a garage in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wow. My God.

Yeah.

Yeah.

The reason Karen Pipkin Guerrero has this bumper is because her dad was an accident investigator. And Karen Silkwood's union, the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union, hired him to look into what caused the fatal crash.

The reason Karen Pipkin Guerrero has this bumper is because her dad was an accident investigator. And Karen Silkwood's union, the Oil, Chemical, and Atomic Workers Union, hired him to look into what caused the fatal crash.

And this bumper? He thought it was important enough that he held on to it for the rest of his life. And just before he died in 2011, he asked his daughter Karen to hang on to it too.

And this bumper? He thought it was important enough that he held on to it for the rest of his life. And just before he died in 2011, he asked his daughter Karen to hang on to it too.

I mean, was there any other case where he asked you to guard these papers or keep that item?

I mean, was there any other case where he asked you to guard these papers or keep that item?

Karen's wondering, and we're wondering, if there's something more that Pipkin's investigation files could tell us. So we've made a plan to have the bumper re-examined by an accident reconstruction expert. And then we'll share whatever new information we find with the Silkwood family.

Karen's wondering, and we're wondering, if there's something more that Pipkin's investigation files could tell us. So we've made a plan to have the bumper re-examined by an accident reconstruction expert. And then we'll share whatever new information we find with the Silkwood family.

From ABC Audio, this is Radioactive, The Karen Silkwood Mystery. Episode 4, The Investigators. I'm Mike Boettcher. And I'm Bob Sands. So let's start at the beginning. The night Karen died, Oklahoma State Highway Patrol Trooper Rick Fagan got a call from his dispatcher about a car wreck on a two-lane state highway, possibly a fatal one.

From ABC Audio, this is Radioactive, The Karen Silkwood Mystery. Episode 4, The Investigators. I'm Mike Boettcher. And I'm Bob Sands. So let's start at the beginning. The night Karen died, Oklahoma State Highway Patrol Trooper Rick Fagan got a call from his dispatcher about a car wreck on a two-lane state highway, possibly a fatal one.

Fagan drove directly to the crash site and by the time he arrived around 8 15 there were several bystanders. Two men and a 14 year old boy had been driving by when they noticed a car tilted on its side in the muddy ditch. They stopped, tried to shine headlights at the scene and called out. No one answered. They approached the car and could see a hand visible out the driver door.

Fagan drove directly to the crash site and by the time he arrived around 8 15 there were several bystanders. Two men and a 14 year old boy had been driving by when they noticed a car tilted on its side in the muddy ditch. They stopped, tried to shine headlights at the scene and called out. No one answered. They approached the car and could see a hand visible out the driver door.

All three reported papers were strewn around the accident scene. All three said they watched as the patrolman gathered them up and placed them back in the car.

All three reported papers were strewn around the accident scene. All three said they watched as the patrolman gathered them up and placed them back in the car.

All in all, he stayed at the crash site for about an hour.

All in all, he stayed at the crash site for about an hour.