This was just on our news~Airbag Kills 6 year old boy

lovinwaves

New member

• Oct 10, 2006

• #1

This is sad. Can anyone guess why he might have died? Did the airbag come out with such force to break his neck? I always knew airbags were dangerous for little kids, but what does the airbag actually do to cause death? (this is assuming the airbag did kill him)

http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/news/10043834/detail.html

 

Lara

New member

• Oct 10, 2006

• #2

I don't know exactly what would have made him die, but that is just so sad.

My little cousin did something similar when he was 3. He got the keys off the top of the fridge, and unlocked all 5 locks on the front door (yes he was a little escape artist lol) He got in the car, put it in drive, and drove it into their garage, the put it in reverse, and drove into their brick mailbox, and then their neighbors garage. It was super scary for everyone obviously, but luckily he wasn't hurt.

Lara

Momma to Kamryn- rf in a scenera, soon to be zebra marathon.

 

SafeDad

CPSDarren - Admin

Staff member

• Oct 11, 2006

• #3

Sadly, 1990 was relatively early in airbag evolution. It was quite likely a full powered model and the proximity due to the steering wheel and the fact the occupant was unrestrained by a shoulder belt would make it extremely dangerous, even to an adult. A broken neck or severe head injury would be a reasonable guess. Fortunately, current airbags have been depowered to some extent and can also inflate at even lower levels or deactivate depending on sensors that detect seatbelt use, occupant weight, child restraint use, etc.

Airbags save lives, but you really need to buckle up and maintain at least 10 inches from the wheel/dash to allow them to do so in the safest manner.

 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

Staff member

• Oct 11, 2006

• #4

Oh my how sad, and ditto to Darren's explanation.

 

C

crystal vowell

New member

• Oct 11, 2006

• #5

Maybe something to do with the natural gas?

 

Jeanum

Admin - CPS Technician Emeritus

Staff member

• Oct 11, 2006

• #6

The gas leak could have been another contributing secondary factor if the poor child breathed in a lot of it after the crash, that's a good point. My best guess is with Darren's though. The impact and being unrestrained in front of the airbag was probably the main cause.

 

T

thepeach80

Senior Community Member

• Oct 11, 2006

• #7

At 6 I'm sure he couldn't reach the petals well so his head was probably right in front of the airbag. I'm assuming he died for the same reasons we don't want rfing babies in front of airbags. Very sad. Makes me nervous b/c AJ can open the doors to the van and put the key in the ignition!

 

lovinwaves

New member

• Oct 11, 2006

• #8

thepeach80 said:

At 6 I'm sure he couldn't reach the petals well so his head was probably right in front of the airbag. I'm assuming he died for the same reasons we don't want rfing babies in front of airbags. Very sad. Makes me nervous b/c AJ can open the doors to the van and put the key in the ignition!

Click to expand...

This brings up a topic I have thought about lately. Sometimes when I would go to pull my van in the basement I will ask Peyton if she wants to help me. I would let her sit in the passenger seat while I drive the van down our very short driveway into the basement.

Now I think I am not going to tell her anything about the car and how it works. It seems silly to make a point to not let her know how the car works, but I always wonder if this could prevent her wanting to drive the car herself. Kids as you know, want to imitate everything we do. Hopefully this will eliminate her wanting/attempting to drive the car like mommy and daddy.

 

Michi

Member

• Oct 11, 2006

• #9

How sad. I wonder if the airbag knocked him out and the natural gas asphyxiated him? I guess its a good reminder to parents (myself included) to keep my keys out of reach. What a tragedy.

 

Morganthe

New member

• Oct 11, 2006

• #10

Very sad. I wonder what he was planning on doing? It could have been a combination of the airbag force, probably not wearing seatbelts,& the gas.

I am unsure if the standard has changed, but airbags were originally designed to protect a 6' 190lb unrestrained man. Considering the average height of American men is only 5'9, and there are so many who WEAR seatbelts plus women who are on avg a lot smaller, the car manufacturers & govermental advisors were complete idiots when they put together this goal. No wonder over the years there have been so many accidental injuries when these airbags have deployed in non-accidents like a woman who had her retina detached, children who have died, etc.

 

R

Robert

CPST Instructor

• Oct 13, 2006

• #11

In looking at the article and picture, it was most likely a first generation airbag which would deploy at 200 mph. With the child right on top of the airbag and then being thrown back with at 200 mph impact with the airbag this would break anyone neck.

 

D

diana1

Guest

• Oct 13, 2006

• #12

It can happen. I ran across the story of this beautiful little girl.


http://www.ashleymoorefund.org/story/

 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician

• Oct 20, 2006

• #13

I don't think withholding information is ever the answer. If she knows how it works, she can have a healthy respect for it... (like guns...and sex...ignorance really doesn't help them there, either )

 

V

vetmommy

New member

• Oct 20, 2006

• #14

Reading this thread just made me think of something my mom did when we were kids. As soon as we showed an interest in how the car worked, mom taught us how to use one thing - the brake pedal. She made sure we knew which pedal it was and drilled us verbally, over and over, that if the car was moving and she wasn't in it, we should step on that pedal really hard to stop the car and not let up until an adult arrived. She also instilled a healthy fear of messing with anything in the car - I thought if I touched anything, the car might start moving!

Just a thought.
Tara

 

lovinwaves

New member

• Oct 20, 2006

• #15

vetmommy said:

Reading this thread just made me think of something my mom did when we were kids. As soon as we showed an interest in how the car worked, mom taught us how to use one thing - the brake pedal. She made sure we knew which pedal it was and drilled us verbally, over and over, that if the car was moving and she wasn't in it, we should step on that pedal really hard to stop the car and not let up until an adult arrived. She also instilled a healthy fear of messing with anything in the car - I thought if I touched anything, the car might start moving!

Just a thought.
Tara

Click to expand...

That is a really good idea. I think we will start doing that! My parents always let me "drive" down our long driveway when I was a kid. Of course I was sitting in their lap. I do remember however my parents telling me about the stick shift and which side was the brake side. They always said, "the BIG pedal is always the STOP pedal"