We deplore a new death attributable to a defective airbag in Guadeloupe: the victim is a motorist who died 8 days ago in Grand Bois, in Gosier. The case was confirmed by the Pointe-à-Pitre Public Prosecutor's Office on Friday. The investigation is continuing. There have already been half a dozen similar cases in the archipelago. And it is clear that deadly devices are still in circulation locally.
The Pointe-à-Pitre Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed yesterday (Friday December 13, 2024) that a defective airbag was blamed in the fatal accident which took place on Sunday December 8, 2024, around 2:00 a.m., on the road from Grand Bois to Gosier. The victim of the accident in question is a 42-year-old woman; she was driving her car, a Volkswagen Polo, when this equipment was triggered, in circumstances which remain to be clarified.
No other vehicles were involved in the accident.
The investigation into the facts is ongoing.
The autopsy which was carried out confirmed that it was the explosion of the airbag which was the cause of his death. An investigation is underway into this death; it will continue in particular with the expertise of the vehicle. And we plan to refer the case again to the investigating judge already seized of six other deaths in this context. That will make seven manslaughters and seven unintentional injuries linked to airbag explosions.
Caroline Calbo, public prosecutor of Pointe-à-Pitre
In similar cases previously identified since June 2023, it appears that the airbags have indeed exploded and, at the same time, violently projected metal debris; they are the ones who can cause serious injuries or even kill the occupants of the vehicle.
In total, the Prosecutor's Offices of Basse-Terre and Pointe-à-Pitre spoke, in May 2024, of 13 cases, only in Guadeloupe. Seven of the corresponding cases are already the subject of a judicial investigation, including two relating to serious injuries; the two victims in question are now suffering serious after-effects.
Whether legal action is taken and is successful is important for the families of both those injured and those killed.
It is essential that victims are all treated in the same way, at the same pace. They have the right to obtain answers to their questions. While waiting for this unique instruction for which we are fighting, does not prevent us from moving forward on local instructions, so that matters move forward, actions are carried out, investigations are carried out. The ideal and the finality is that all these matters are brought together, so that we have a single vision and a true vision of what happened and led to these tragedies.
Charles-Henri Coppet, lawyer specializing in personal injury
The lawyer who notes that “the danger remains real“, advocates the implementation of all measures to avoid any new tragedy.
This is why justice must have the means to investigate, by concentrating all these cases, to understand what is wrong, to understand when the system malfunctions, when we stop protecting the citizen, motorists. How can we allow such a rolling danger to continue to circulate, to continue to kill people, mainly Guadeloupeans? The entire chain of those who have equipped their vehicles with this ammonium nitrate-based device must be questioned. We must understand when economic interests were prioritized over people's lives, over the preservation of the individual.
Charles-Henri Coppet, lawyer specializing in personal injury
Since the revelation of these cases, several recall campaigns for vehicles equipped with airbags from the Japanese brand Takata, in question, have been carried out by dealers and manufacturers. Their customers were asked to bring their cars in so that these cushions could be replaced free of charge. But the problem remains, particularly for buyers of second-hand vehicles; these are difficult to identify to be recalled.
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