# 2020 CHEVROLET EQUINOX — SEAT BELTS
> **FATAL** · NHTSA complaint `1694065` · 2020-09-21 · General Motors, LLC
## Severity
- **Deaths:** 1
- **Injured:** 1
- **Fire:** No
- **Crash:** Yes
- **Police report:** No
- **Medical attention:** Yes
- **Vehicle towed:** No
## Vehicle
- **Make:** CHEVROLET
- **Model:** EQUINOX
- **Year:** 2020
- **Manufacturer:** General Motors, LLC
- **Component:** SEAT BELTS
- **Miles at failure:** 2,077
## Narrative
I AM A CRASH INVESTIGATOR/RECONSTRUCTIONIST LOOKING INTO A FATAL CRASH INVOLVING A 2020 EQUINOX WITH APPROXIMATELY 2000 MILES ON IT THAT HIT A TREE IN THE FRONT (HEAD-ON) AT APPROXIMATELY 40 MILES PER HOUR.  THERE WERE 2 OCCUPANTS, DRIVER AND FRONT SEAT PASSENGER.  PASSENGER SAID HE WAS NOT WEARING HIS SEAT BELT.  PASSENGER SEAT BELT WAS FOUND TO BE RETRACTED AND LOCKED TIGHT.  DRIVER SEAT BELT WAS FOUND TO BE RETRACTED AND LOOSE (NORMAL POSITIONING).  INITIAL OBSERVATION OF THE CDR DATA, AND NOT THAT OF A THOROUGH AND COMPLETE ANALYSIS, INDICATES THAT THE DRIVER WAS BUCKLED AND THE PASSENGER WAS UNBUCKLED.  THE STEERING WHEEL APPEARS TO BE COLLAPSED AS THOUGH THE DRIVER MOVED FORWARD IN THE FORCE OF THE IMPACT.  THERE ARE MANY FACTORS THAT INVOLVE THE NORMAL AND SAFE SEAT BELT OPERATION, AND THEREFORE IT IS NOT KNOWN IF THIS IS A DEFECT, NORMAL OPERATION AS A RESULT OF THE CRASH, OPERATOR MISUSE, ETC.  FURTHER INSPECTION OF THE DRIVER SEAT BELT HAS NOT BEEN DONE AT THIS TIME.
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*Source: [NHTSA ODI](https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/downloads/) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*