Fatal Automobile Accident Due to Airbag Misdeployment

[hermantheshocker]

Dubai. A 33-year-old man died after his motor vehicle impinged a roadside curbstone. According to the traffic accident report, the deceased person was driving his sedan at a speed that did not exceed the maximum specified speed limit on that road (80 km/h); however, he im- pinged the roadside curbstone without any brake attempt. The external car damage was minimal, and there were no visible damages to the internal driving cabinet. Both the front windshield and side windows were completely closed and intact.


Fig.1 A circular laceration wound with an irregular edge and skin loss in the centre of frontal part of the neck.

The autopsy revealed abrasions at the frontal side in the middle of both forearms with directions toward the shoulders. A circular laceration wound with an irregular edge and skin loss was found in the central front part of the neck. The wound diameter was 50 mm, which apparently mimics a firearm injury. Internally, the wound penetrated all neck muscles above the level of the thyroid cartilage prominence toward the cervical vertebrae associated with bleeding in the muscles and tissues around the wound in all layers. Following the wound pathway that was created in the soft tissues to the middle of the body of the fourth cervical vertebra; a hole was found. Further exploration of the case revealed a metal piece embedded in the body of the fourth vertebra.


Fig.2 Abrasions at the frontal side in the middle of the left forearm with directions toward the shoulders.

The metal piece displaced a section of the vertebral body toward the spinal canal, resulting in a full transection of the spinal cord at that level, with bleeding in the spinal canal. A thin layer of hemorrhage was found around the brain in the subdural space extending to the spinal canal and was seen through the foramen magnum. On the other hand, the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage horns were intact. Likewise, the main blood vessels in the neck including the carotid arteries and the jugular veins were intact, as well as the chest wall and the internal organs. The tracheal cavity contained some blood that was mixed with mucus, while both main bronchi and the bronchial tree had only blood. However, the lungs were not hyperinflated, and examination of the heart and cardiac muscles revealed no old or fresh infarctions.


Fig.3 Anterior view of the cervical vertebrae with a metal body embedded in the body of the fourth vertebra.


Fig.4 Posterior view of the cervical vertebrae after removing the posterior parts.

The forensic toxicology report provided no additional evidence related to the pre-consumption of alcohol or drug intoxication/overdose. Therefore, the cause of the death was mainly attributed to the penetrating wound of the neck.

The SRS airbag had been activated at the time of the accident and inflated from both the driver and the passenger front sides of the cockpit. The steering wheel was exposed to its inner skeleton and a cylindrical metal fragment was found stuck above the steering central bolt. After detaching the cylinder from the steering wheel, it could be visibly noticed that the cylinder resembles a shape matching that of the other piece found in the evidence bag. The two metal fragments were interlocked with each other to assemble a vessel that is closed from both sides.


Fig.5 The metal fragment that represents a closed end and an open tapered face on the other side with a total length of 16.3 mm.


Fig.6 The other end of the metallic cylinder piece which was found stuck to the steering wheel central bolt and surrounded with a metallic wire net.


Fig.7 The metallic body found on the deceased person and the one found stuck to the steering wheel were interlocked with each other.

The presence of the neck wound raised some uncertainties regarding the source of the injury, whether it was caused by a rod-shaped blunt object or an external source that intruded into the car. Another possibility was a distant firearm injury which is considered very rare in this region. Additional cause would be that the metal piece was situated between the airbag and the driver at the time of airbag deployment. Since the windshield and side windows of the motor vehicle were intact and closed, these findings excluded the possibilities of any external intrusion. Further examination of the body and the existence of the metal piece excluded any firearm injury possibilities. As for the reason for the accident, the investigators could not conclude the specific cause leading to the collision.

Examination of the motor vehicle components confirmed that the metal piece was part of the SRS airbag, therefore excluding any other sources for the object. The detailed engineering investigation revealed that the cylinder-shaped metal fragment and the other piece attached to the steering wheel central bolt interlocked with each other to form the gas inflation cylinder located within the steering wheel airbag inflation unit. The inflation cylinder separated into two pieces in an unintended manner.

The motor vehicle involved in the accident discussed in this case report was a 2008 white four-door sedan, and according to the car history record, the deceased person was not its first owner. The local agent had previously launched a recall campaign on this specific vehicle model for a known SRS airbag manufacturing defect. In this case, there were no responses to the agent’s several recall requests from previous owners, and this raises concerns on the effectiveness of these recall campaigns, whether there should be a legal liability on previous owners for not responding to them. In 2016, the car manufacturer issued an official public report highlighting the manufacturing defect in the SRS airbag related to some of its models including this specific model for the years (2006– 2011) and urged owners for an immediate response to their recall requests to replace the defective parts.

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This post is for educational purposes only and is nonprofit. Under Section 107 of the US Copyright Act of 1976; Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. OP is not a medical expert. No copyright infringement intended. This post does not encourage or glorify violence/harassment. Images might have been upscaled and enhanced. Text might have been shortened and simplified/reorganized for online view.

[ride]

I know there was an uncompleted airbag recall, but damn!

Thanks, Herman! Happy New Year!

[v1r]

So my irrational fear is not so irrational after all! Thanks for sharing Herman.

[gboy69]

Originally Posted by v1r

So my irrational fear is not so irrational after all!

that sounds like something a neanderthal would say . . . the more advanced resident of planet earth would have just taken the car to the dealer to get the air bag fixed before it went off

[v1r]

Originally Posted by gboy69

that sounds like something a neanderthal would say . . . the more advanced resident of planet earth would have just taken the car to the dealer to get the air bag fixed before it went off

Hey don't turn my insult back on me:
You are right though, my "fear" is just the airbag randomly deploying from nothing.

[imbok]

Airbag saves, projectile kills. What a shitty piece of luck!

[gboy69]

Originally Posted by v1r

Hey don't turn my insult back on me:
You are right though, my "fear" is just the airbag randomly deploying from nothing.

i do not have that fear - perhaps that is because my car is from 1973 - it is safe though; it has a collapsible steering column and rear seat belts

[gimlet]

Shame they didn't identify the make and model of the car. Maybe it was those Japanese Takata? airbag components that resulted in a huge recall. Hitting a curb around 50 mph probably shouldn't trigger an airbag, but I don't know much about airbags.

Those airbags really explode!

[rohmell]

Some manufacturers are adamant about getting the recalled airbags replaced. One of my relatives has a vehicle with the Takata airbags, and he kept getting postcards (that he threw away) and phone calls (that he never answered on the answering machine) about bringing in the car to the dealer for a free replacement of the airbag. Finally, they offered to have the local dealer come to him and fix it, and that's what they did. They actually sent a mobile repair vehicle and the guy replaced the airbag right in his driveway whilst he watched.

[Razorhead]

Interesting set.