An unusual case of fatal airbag injury

We report an unusual case of fatal airbag injury. A woman in her forties was driving a light car when it was involved in an accident. When the car was found, the left front wheel had dropped into the gutter, the front bumper was dented and the airbag had deployed. Forensic autopsy revealed that the right subclavian artery and the left vertebral artery were ruptured and 1,570 ml and 360 ml of blood with clots were observed in the left and the right thoracic cavity, respectively. It was considered that the unusual collision produced by deployment of the airbag had caused these ruptures and massive hemorrhaging. Although an airbag is an effective tool for ensuring the safety of a driver and the passengers, it may injure and occasionally kill the occupants if they do not remain in the appropriate and restrained seating position.