Ken Schrader was the first to reach Dale Earnhardts car after the accident. Schrader has never given a detailed account of what he saw, but he has said that he saw a friend in trouble and that he knew Dale was dead. Based on the fact that a basilar skull fracture is essentially an internal decapitation, it is speculated that Schrader probably saw Dale slumped over, jaw broken, and blood pouring out his nose. Schraders wife, Ann, has said that he backed away from the scene, lost in his own thoughts and emotions. Schrader has repeatedly resisted talking in detail about what he saw, and to this day, all he will say is, "I just knew that".