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2008 KIA OPTIMA — SEAT BELTS

fire · 929688 · 2012-07-23

Vehicle

Make
KIA
Model
OPTIMA
Year
2008
Manufacturer
Kia America, Inc.
Component
SEAT BELTS

Severity

Deaths
0
Injured
0
Fire
Yes
Crash
No
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

THE REAR PASSENGER SEAT BELT WAS JAMMED. I PULLED IT A FEW TIMES AND IT BECAME UNJAMMED AND I FASTENED THE SAFETY BELT AROUND MY 4 YEAR OLD CHILD. APPROXIMATELY 3-5 MINUTES LATER AS I WAS DRIVING I SMELLED SMOKE. I STARTED CHECKING THE CONTROL PANEL AND TURNED OFF THE A/C AND RADIO AND ROLLED DOWN THE WINDOWS. THE SMOKE STOPPED SO I CONTINUED TO DRIVE ABOUT A MILE AND STOPPED THE CAR IN A PARKING LOT. I WAS THERE APPROXIMATELY 4 MINUTES WHEN I SMELLED SMOKE AND TURNED MY HEAD TO THE REAR OF THE VEHICLE TOWARDS MY CHILD. MY CHILD SCREAMED FOR ME THE SAME MOMENT I WAS TURNING MY HEAD AND THERE WERE FLAMES MELTING THE PLASTIC CASING AROUND THE SEAT BELT COVER. THE FLAMES ALMOST REACHED HER HEAD. I FRANTICALLY GOT IN THE BACK SEAT AND REMOVED THE SAFETY BELT AND PULLED HER FROM THE CAR TO SAFETY. THE ENTIRE INTERIOR OF THE CAR WAS BURNED FROM THE FIRE. THERE WERE NO BURN INJURIES DUE TO THE FACT THAT I WAS STOPPED AND ABLE TO REMOVE MYSELF AND MY CHILD BEFORE THE FLAMES ENGULFED MY CAR. *TR

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10467019
Machine
JSON-LD · Markdown