The male motorcyclist was pronounced dead on the scene by paramedics, the police said.
Should it be “at” instead?
Thanks.
That’s a very interesting question. Both are correct – ‘dead on the scene’ as well as ‘dead at the scene’ and so far I haven’t figured out the difference if any.
Another fixed expression with ‘dead on’ is ‘dead on arrival (DOA)’. Come to think of it, there is also the expression ‘dead on scene – DOS’ (as opposed to ‘dead on the scene’).
Let’s see what @Alan @Anglophile and @RyanBell have to say on the issue.
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I am in accord with you, Torsten. Both are found used. But there is also an expression used by medicos: Brought In Dead (BID) to indicate that the death had occurred before arrival at the clinic where the physician was to declare the condition of the patient.
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Not sure where the question is but just want to confirm use of ‘at the scene’ suggesting where something took place. On the other hand ‘on the scene ‘ suggests arriving at a place as in -
The press were on the scene immediately after the attack.
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