A young mother was killed when a fake, defective air bag “detonated like a grenade” during a crash and sprayed her with shrapnel, a lawsuit claims.
Destiny Marie Byassee, 22, died on June 11 of last year when her 2020 Chevy Malibu was involved in a head-on collision in Punta Gorda, Florida.
The airbag deployed, but instead of saving his life, it “detonated like a grenade and shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the cabin of the vehicle.”
“Several fragments from the explosion struck Ms. Byassee in the face, head and neck, ultimately killing her,” states the lawsuit filed on May 16, her son’s birthday.
Destiny Marie Byassee, 22 (pictured with her husband Ernesto Donovan Barrientes and their young son) died on June 11 of last year in a car accident in Florida.
This photo shows the aftermath of the accident with the airbag module exploded and the airbag shattered in the seat.
The complaint was filed in the 17th Judicial Circuit Court of Broward County on behalf of herself, her grandmother, her husband, her mother and her two children, ages 4 and 6.
Byassee’s family attorney, Andrew Felix, laid out a shocking series of events that the lawsuit claims led directly to her death.
The Malibu was involved in another accident on September 24, 2022, which also caused severe damage to the car and deployed its original airbag.
“The damage suffered by the Chevy Malibu in the accident was so significant that the vehicle should have been classified as a total loss, issued a salvage title, and removed from service,” the lawsuit states.
Instead, its owner, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, decided to sell it through auto auctioneer Manheim, but it had to be repaired first.
Haim Levy, a mechanic who owns Jumbo Automotive in Hollywood, Florida, was hired to repair the car, including replacing the airbag.
The lawsuit claimed it used “counterfeit and non-conforming airbag components” from Chinese vehicle parts maker Jilin to save money.
The airbag deployed, but instead of saving Byassee’s life, it “detonated like a grenade and shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the cabin of the vehicle.”
The lawsuit was filed on May 16, her son’s fourth birthday. Her daughter is six
Levy also had to replace a seat belt pretensioner, which locks the belt in place during a crash to prevent the driver from being thrown forward.
The lawsuit claimed he again cut corners and failed to replace or repair the damaged part.
“Jumbo and Levy cut the seat belt pretensioner cables so that the front driver’s seat belt would release from its deployed position, appear normal, and appear to function as designed and intended to an unwitting customer,” he said.
Manheim then sold the reconditioned vehicle at auction to Byassee and she drove it until the fatal crash months later.
“Byassee had no idea that the vehicle had been improperly and illegally repaired, that it contained counterfeit and non-compliant air bag components, or that the driver’s side front seat belt pretensioner was disabled and inoperable,” the lawsuit states.
Both components failed in the accident and the seat belt pretensioner “did not deploy as originally designed”, while the airbag responded much less well.
The lawsuit included two photographs of the car’s interior after the accident that “depict a horrific event.”
One showed the exploded airbag module with the airbag shattered in the seat and the other showed the “driver’s side front airbag shattered and soaked in blood.”
Byassee drove the car for months without knowing it was a ticking time bomb, according to the lawsuit.
A file photo of a 2020 Chevy Malibu like the one Byassee was driving when he died
“She was a mother of two young children and had her whole life ahead of her,” said another attorney representing the family, John Morgan.
‘(Byassee) believed he was purchasing a safe and reliable vehicle, but our lawsuit alleges that several car companies worked to circumvent the system by repairing what should have been a totaled vehicle, all just to make money.
“That’s why Mrs. Byassee lost her life and her children will grow up without their mother.”
The law firm said many counterfeit airbags from China were being unknowingly installed in cars in the United States.
Byassee’s grandmother, Cathy King, is leading the lawsuit, and her mother Lorretta Simmons, her husband Ernesto Donovan Barrientes and their children are named as plaintiffs.
Enterprise, Manheim, Jumbo and Levy himself are named as defendants with unspecified damages sought for 14 counts of negligence, violation of Florida’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, breach of warranty and strict liability.
