A 23 year old woman was admitted after a road trafficaccident.Initialexaminationshowedaseatbelthematomaonthe abdomen. A CT scan showed a compression-distractionfracture (type B injury) of the third lumbar vertebra withdisplacementinthespinalcanal.Additionally,theabdominalaortashowed irregularcontours, but no active bleeding.Thepre-operative MRA confirmed a distal aortic lesion (left im-age). Diagnostic laparotomy was performed and revealedcolonic lesions and a contained aortic rupture (right image),which was repaired with an aorto-aortic tube graft. Thevertebralfracturewassubsequentlytreatedbypercutaneousstabilization and kyphoplasty via dorsal access.