Subject: 
ford explorer air bag


Mon, 11 Jul 2005 19:30:01 -0700
Date:    





Mr. Grigsby:

I am writing this for a friend of mine.  He cannot write because he is 
still recuperating from a serious accident in January, 2005.   He was 
driving his 2004 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4.6L 4X4 with $8,000 of 
optional safety equipment: side-impact airbags, overhead curtain, etc.  
The Ford skidded on some ice when entering a two-lane paved road from a 
dirt/gravel road, slid across the paved road and down a steep 
embankment, and hit the bottom of the bank headfirst, recoiled from 
impact with the frozen ground, and landed upright on all 4 wheels.  He 
and his passenger (his adult daughter) suffered severe injuries because 
the safety equipment did not deploy.

The seatbelts released prior to impact, causing both him and the 
passenger to be unrestrained.  The airbags did not deploy and both the 
driver and passenger were hurled forward when the vehicle slammed into 
the ground.  The passenger hit the windshield face-first, suffering a 
massive laceration starting at her hairline and extending over the back 
of her head, then curving around her neck and under her chin, almost 
scalping her.  The driver's head hit the frame above the windshield and 
his torso hit the steering wheel, breaking some ribs.  When the vehicle 
bounced back from the first impact and landed on its wheels two of the 
bolts holding the seat sheared off, and the other two ripped through the 
sheet metal floor.  The seat itself broke, and he ended up lying on his 
back, partially under the dash, with injuries to his spinal column and 
discs.  Six months after the accident he is still on morphine and is 
finally able to start starting physical therapy.

My friend purchased the Explorer in June, 2004 for $36,000 (plus tax & 
license), and at the time of the accident it had less than 15,000 miles 
on it.  After spending more than $20,000 on repairs, including 
replacement of major compnents (frame assembly, bumper, grill, body 
panels, running board, transmission, wheels, etc)  his insurance company 
finally decided the Explorer was totalled.

At this time we do not know if the failure of the safety equipment on my 
friend's Explorer was due to improper installation, defective design or 
some other reason.  We are looking for information about problems with 
seatbelts and airbags on Ford vehicles.