FLORIDA (WKRC) — A lawsuit has been enacted after a mother from Florida died last year due to a "grenade"-like explosion from a counterfeit airbag during a car crash.
Destiny Marie Byassee was only 22 years old when she was in a frontal collision in her 2020 Chevy Malibu on June 11, 2023. She purchased the Malibu from DriveTime, a used car company that operates nationwide, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims that the Malibu, which had previously been owned and operated by Enterprise Rent-A-Car, should have never been sold to anyone.
“On or about September 24, 2022, the subject Chevy Malibu was involved in a collision that caused the front driver-side airbag and front driver-side seatbelt pretensioner to deploy,” the complaint reads. “The damage to the subject Chevy Malibu from the crash was so significant that the vehicle should have been classified as a total loss, issued a salvage title, and removed from service.”
Nonetheless, the Malibu was sold to DriveTime through Manheim Auctions, Inc., which calls itself the world's largest wholesale automobile auction company, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that the mechanic who fixed the car after its initial crash "purchased counterfeit and non-compliant airbag components" and installed them into the Malibu. The lawsuit says the non-compliant airbag was manufactured and sold by Jilin Province Detiannuo Safety Technology Company.
The lawsuit also claims that Byassee was "a properly restrained driver who was wearing her seatbelt," but the seatbelt pretensioner had also been repaired incorrectly.
During the 2023 crash, the airbags and seatbelt should have worked properly, but the lawsuit says "because the subject Chevy Malibu’s front driver-side seatbelt pretensioner was inoperable, the pretensioner did not deploy as originally designed. Worse, because the subject Chevy Malibu’s front driver-side airbag system included counterfeit and non-compliant components, the airbag detonated like a grenade and shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the vehicle cabin.”
In 33 pages, the lawsuit pushes 14 various counts against the defendants (only Manheim Actions, Inc. has currently been named as a defendant). Manheim has yet to comment.
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