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2001 TOYOTA SIENNA — AIR BAGS

1 fatalcrash2 injured · 873753 · 2011-08-14

Vehicle

Make
TOYOTA
Model
SIENNA
Year
2001
Manufacturer
Toyota Motor Corporation
Component
AIR BAGS
Miles at failure
90,000
Speed
50 mph

Severity

Deaths
1
Injured
2
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

ON OCTOBER 28,2006, MY SON AND I RETURNED TO THE SITE OF THE ACCIDENT, THE NC STATE HIGHWAY PATROL DRIVING TRACK. ONCE THROUGH REGISTRATION, WE RE-ENTERED THE 2001 TOYOTA SIENNA MINIVAN. UNFORTUNATELY, WE DID NOT USE THE SEAT BELTS, SINCE WE COULD SEE THE SPOT WE HAD BEEN ASSIGNED. SOMETIME DURING THIS MOVE, I MUST HAVE HAD A SEIZURE, SINCE THE ONLY THING I REMEMBER IS SOMEONE HELPING ME OUT OF THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR. ONCE AT THE HOSPITAL, I LAPSED INTO A COMA, WHICH WAS TO LAST FOR THE NEXT 18 DAYS. ONCE I WOKE UP, I WAS TOLD THAT MY SON HAD DIED, AND WAS BURIED. IT WAS STATED TO ME THAT WE WEREN'T WEARING OUR SEAT BELTS. I SAID, "WHAT ABOUT THE AIRBAGS?" THEY HADN'T DEPLOYED, IT TURNED OUT. I REALIZE THAT WE WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE SAFE IF WE HAD BEEN WEARING OUR SEAT BELTS. BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT THE AIRBAGS SHOULD HAVE DEPLOYED, SINCE THE ESTIMATED SPEED AT TIME OF IMPACT WAS 50 MPH. SINCE WE HAD GONE THROUGH A CREEK, AND SLAMMED INTO THE OPPOSITE CREEK BANK IN A BASIC HEAD ON COLLISION. I ALSO KNOW THAT THINGS WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERABLY DIFFERENT IF THE AIRBAGS HAD DEPLOYED, SINCE BOTH MY SON AND I SUSTAINED TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURIES (TBI'S) . ONCE I WAS ABLE TO USE A COMPUTER, I RESEARCHED AIRBAG FAILURES IN TOYOTA VEHICLES, AND FOUND NUMEROUS INCIDENTS AND ANECDOTES OF OTHER PEOPLES'S EXPERIENCE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM - FAILURE OF THE AIRBAGS TO DEPLOY, WHEN IT WAS CLEARLY OBVIOUS THAT THEY WERE NEEDED. I ALSO WONDERED ABOUT THE COMMONALITY OF THE PROBLEM, AND BEGAN TO SUSP

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10420211
Machine
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