Takata Airbag Death: Source-Determination Investigation of Metal Fragment Recovered from Driver
THE MICROSCOPE
2017, Volume 65:3, pp. 99–105
DOI
https://doi.org/10.59082/CDNX6570
AUTHORS
Richard S. Brown
ABSTRACT
In December 2015, the driver of a 2006 Ford Ranger pickup truck was killed after colliding with an object in the road. The truck’s airbag module had deployed, and a subsequent autopsy revealed what appeared to be a gunshot wound in the driver’s neck. The suspected source of the wound was a metal fragment slug from the driver’s side airbag module located in the steering wheel of the truck. MVA Scientific Consultants was asked by the coroner’s office to determine the composition of the slug recovered from the driver and to determine the source of the slug.