Cole Young

MS PE

Senior Engineer

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cole.young@meaforensic.com
949.273.1133
949.273.1133
Los Angeles
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Cole Young leads MEA Forensic’s Video Analysis group in the US. Cole is a registered professional engineer, has reconstructed hundreds of crashes and injury-producing events, and has testified in court as an expert witness. He routinely examines vehicles, inspects crash locations, and analyzes physical evidence in cases involving motor vehicles (including heavy trucks, trains, cars, and motorcycles), as well as cyclists and pedestrians. In addition to mastering the traditional tools of collision reconstruction, Cole has specialized in video analysis, and has received hundreds of hours of dedicated training from authoritative organizations like the Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA).

Cole analyzes video from all kinds of sources: body-worn cameras, dashcams, surveillance systems and cell phones. Based on an understanding of video, and with an engineering approach to analysis, Cole can accurately quantify what a video shows, and compensate for the effects of lens distortion, or stabilize a shaky video for example. He routinely extracts information such as vehicle position, movement, speed and timing from video. Cole has also analyzed videos from shootings and slip, trip and fall cases.

Cole holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and the University of California, Irvine. His Master’s project involved analyzing video of divers. “I have always been interested in the study of motion,” Cole observes, “and that continues at MEA.”

In 2017, Cole conducted a series of SUV rollover tests to investigate the complex motions involved in crashes, studying dynamic conditions leading to a vehicle’s tire lifting off the ground, and in some instances, causing a roll. He derived detailed vehicle kinematics using match-moving techniques to reconstruct vehicle motion from drone videos and combined this directly with onboard vehicle sensor data of the staged rollovers. 

Cole’s detailed approach to working with video evidence extends to how he uses graphics to illustrate the results of his analyses. “The evidence is visual, so the demonstrative exhibits need to be as well. I focus on presenting information clearly and allowing the physical evidence to show how an event unfolded.”

expertise

  1. Collision Reconstruction
  2. Video Analysis

areas of specialization

  1. Collision reconstruction
  2. PC-Crash simulation
  3. Video and photo analysis

education

  1. Master of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Irvine, 2011.
  2. Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, 2009.

professional status

  1. Registered Professional Engineer, State of California, May 2014. License number 37057.
  2. Certified Forensic Video Technician, Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association, 2017.

professional associations

  1. California Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists (CA2RS), 2013
  2. Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association (LEVA), 2016
  3. Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), since 2015
  4. Southwest Association of Technical Accident Investigators (SATAI), since 2018
researchgate

Professional Experience

  1. MEA Forensic Engineers & Scientists
    Project Engineer, August 2012 to present

    Conducts technical investigations involving motor vehicle accident reconstruction. Case analysis includes severity assessment, collision sequence, occupant kinematics, vehicle speed, vehicle dynamics, and accident avoidance potential.

  2. McCarthy Design Associates
    Assistant Engineer, September 2011 to February 2012

    Conducted technical investigations involving intellectual property patents and product liability in the design of mechanisms and machines.

Research Activities

  1. University of California, Irvine
    Member of Biorobotics Group, 2010 – 2011

    Research thrust in robotic rehabilitation under advisement of Professor David Reinkensmeyer.

  2. University of California, Irvine
    Masters Thesis, Completed 2011

    Classification framework for the analysis and synthesis of movement quality in competitive diving.

  3. University of California, Irvine
    Interactive Media Installment to promote physical wellness, 2010 – 2011

    Melding of Digital Media Art, Dance, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science disciplines to create a feedback enriched movement environment.

Lectures & Presentations

  1. April 5, 2022 – Rollover and Near-Rollover Kinematics During Evasive Steer Maneuvers, 2022 SAE World Congress, Detroit, MI.
  2. November 8-9, 2021 – Video Evidence: 2021 Southern California Fraud Investigators’ Association, November – Palm Springs, CA.
  3. June 6, 2018 – Video Analysis in Forensic Crash Reconstruction: Video Matching using Laser Scan Data to Quantify Vehicle Motion, Spar 3D Expo and Conference, Anaheim, CA.
  4. May 10, 2018 –Video Evidence: More Than Meets the Eye, San Diego, CA.
  5. Oct 27, 2017 – Rollover Reconstruction, CA2RS (California Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists), Fall Conference – Anaheim, CA.
  6. April 14, 2016 – Vehicle Kinematics and Deceleration Rates of Four Staged SUV Rollovers, 2016 SAE World Congress, Detroit, MI
  7. November 4, 2015 – Caught on Tape, Video Analysis, 2015 Southern California Fraud Investigators’ Association
  8. March 11, 2015 – Video Analysis in Collision Reconstruction, 2015 Combined Claims Conference, Orange, CA

Training & Professional Development

  1. October 24-28, 2022 – Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association, Annual Conference, San Diego, CA.
  2. February 28 – 29, March 1, 7-8, 2022 – Photomodeler for Collision Investigation, Photomodeler Technologies, Online.
  3. February 2022 – Photogrammetry: Forensic Applications Using Photomodeler, DCM Technical Services, Online.
  4. January 17-21, 2022 – Accident Reconstruction Training Course, Engineering Dynamics Company (EDC) Simulations, Online.
  5. March 22–25, 2021 – iNPUT-ACE Video Evidence Symposium 2021, Online.
  6. October 22-25, 2019 – Accessing and Interpreting Heavy Vehicle Event Data Recorders, Society of Automotive Engineers, Oxnard, CA.
  7. July 28 – August 1, 2019 – SIGGRAPH2019, 46th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics & Interactive Techniques, Los Angeles, CA.
  8. December 3-7, 2018 – LEVA Level 4: Advanced Forensic Video Analysis & The Law, Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association, Houston, TX.
  9. September 26, 2018 – Utilizing Video Evidence in Traffic Investigations, Orange County Traffic Investigations Association (OCTIA), Irvine, CA.
  10. April 30 – May 1, 2018 – MEA Toyota Vehicle Control History Testing for Steering and Braking, Irvine, CA
  11. January 23-26, 2018 – PC-Crash live training: Essentials and Advanced, Irvine, CA.
  12. Sept 11-15, 2017 – LEVA Level 3: Photographic/Video Comparison, Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association, Kansas City, MO.
  13. June 19-23, 2017 – LEVA Level 2: Digital Multimedia Evidence Processing, Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association, Kansas City, MO.
  14. May 30-31, 2017 – iNPUT-ACE Training: A Dynamic Video Workflow Engine for Law Enforcement, Surrey, BC.
  15. December 1, 2016 – Reconstruction and Analysis of Rollover Crashes of Light Vehicles, Norwalk CA.
  16. November 14-18, 2016 – Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association, Annual Conference, Scottsdale, AZ.
  17. July 18-22, 2016 – LEVA Level 1: Forensic Video Analysis & The Law, Law Enforcement & Emergency Services Video Association, Anaheim, CA.
  18. June 22, 2016 – California Association of Accident Reconstruction Specialists, 2016 2nd Quarter Training, Glendora, CA.
  19. June 9-14, 2014 – CDR Operators, Systems Analysis & Applications Course, Las Vegas, NV.
  20. January 20-24, 2014 – Engineering Dynamics Corporation Reconstruction Course, Burbank, CA.
  21. September 17-19, 2013 – PC-Crash Training, Rollover and Trailer, webinar.
  22. April 9, 2013 – Rail Safety Training Course, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Los Angeles, CA.
  23. January, 2013 – FARO Laser Scanner Training (3 day course), Los Angeles, CA.

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