Mother, 22, is killed after counterfeit airbag exploded during collision, spraying her face with shrapnel

A young mother was killed when a fake, defective airbag “exploded like a grenade” during a crash, spraying her with shrapnel, a lawsuit claims.

Destiny Marie Byassee, 22, died last year on June 11 when her 2020 Chevy Malibu suffered a head-on collision in Punta Gorda, Florida.

The airbag deployed, but instead of saving her life it “exploded like a grenade, shooting metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the vehicle’s cabin.”

“Several fragments of the blast struck Ms. Byassee in the face, head and neck, ultimately killing her,” the lawsuit filed on May 16, her son’s birthday, alleged.

This photo shows the aftermath of the crash with the exploded airbag module with shredded airbag on the seat

The complaint was filed on behalf of her, grandmother, husband, mother and two children, ages 4 and 6, in Broward County’s 17th Judicial Circuit Court.

Byassee’s family attorney, Andrew Felix, laid out a shocking series of events that led directly to her death, according to the lawsuit.

The Malibu was again involved in an accident on September 24, 2022, which also caused serious damage to the car and triggered the original airbag.

“The damage to the involved Chevy Malibu as a result of the crash was so extensive that the vehicle should have been classified as a total loss, issued a salvage title, and removed from service,” the lawsuit alleged.

Instead, owner Enterprise Rent-A-Car decided to sell it through car auctioneer Manheim, but first it needed to be repaired.

Haim Levy, a mechanic who owns Jumbo Automotive in Hollywood, Florida, was hired to repair the car – including replacing the airbag.

The lawsuit alleged that he used “counterfeit and non-compliant airbag components” from Chinese auto parts manufacturer Jilin to save money.

The airbag deployed, but instead of saving Byassee’s life it “exploded like a grenade, shooting metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the vehicle’s cabin.”

The lawsuit was filed on May 16, her son’s fourth birthday. Her daughter is six

Levy also had to replace a seatbelt pretensioner, which locks the seatbelt in place during a crash to prevent the driver from being thrown all the way forward.

The lawsuit alleged that he cut corners again and failed to replace or repair the damaged part.

“Jumbo and Levy cut the wires to the seat belt pretensioner so that the front driver’s seat belt released from the open position, appeared normal, and appeared to function as designed and intended to an unwitting customer,” the report alleged.

Manheim then sold the refurbished vehicle at auction to Byassee and she drove it around until the fatal crash months later.

“Byassee had no idea that the vehicle had been improperly and illegally repaired, that the vehicle contained counterfeit and non-compliant air bag parts, or that the seat belt pretensioner on the driver’s side of the vehicle was disabled and inoperable,” the lawsuit said.

Both components failed in the crash and the seat belt pretensioner ‘did not deploy as originally designed’, while the airbag responded much less well.

The lawsuit included two photos of the inside of the car in the aftermath of the crash that “depict a horrific event.”

One showed the exploded airbag module with a shredded airbag on the seat, and the other the “shredded and blood-soaked driver’s side airbag.”

Byassee drove the car around for months without knowing it was a ticking time bomb, the lawsuit said

A file photo of a 2020 Chevy Malibu, like the one Byassee was driving when she 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] thought she 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 totalitarian vehicle, all just to make money.

“As a result, Mrs. Byassee lost her life and her children will grow up without their mother.”

The law firm said many counterfeit airbags from China were unknowingly installed in cars in the US.

Byassee’s grandmother Cathy King is leading the lawsuit, with her mother Lorretta Simmons, husband Ernesto Donovan Barrientes and her children as plaintiffs.

Enterprise, Manheim, Jumbo and Levy itself are named as defendants with unspecified damages sought on 14 counts of negligence, violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, breach of warranty and strict liability.