Mother says airbag, not accident, may have caused son’s death

The road transport department confirmed it is closely monitoring the recall process for vehicles with airbags from a specific manufacturer after it was suggested that the death of 24-year-old Kyriakos Oxynos in a car accident in late January may have been caused by defective airbags in the car he was driving.

The accident occurred on January 23, when the car driven by the 24-year-old veered off course on Griva Digeni Avenue, in the Kykkos Metochi area of Nicosia, hit the divider and crashed into a tree.

Speaking to Trito on Wednesday morning, his mother Maria Loui said that in the initial police report, her son’s death was attributed to a blow to the head, something that did not sit right with her.

“I started to do my own research as I wasn’t satisfied with being told he had no injuries on his body when he’d been in a fatal accident,” she said. “I couldn’t accept that he went just like that.”

After several months of research, Loui came across reports of defective airbags made by Japanese manufacturer Takata. According to her findings, millions of vehicles with Takata airbags have been recalled after it was determined they have contributed to a number of serious injuries and deaths.

Despite this, she said that the owners of the car her son was driving – his grandmother and father – were not aware of the defective airbags and claimed they had not been notified about them.

The issue reported was that high temperatures can cause these specific airbags to explode when deployed due to ammonium nitrate, the chemical used by the maker, sending metal shrapnel through the body.

Loui told Trito that following her research she demanded that the police reopen the investigation, saying they confirmed that the airbag exploding may have in fact caused her son’s death.

Asked whether a final verdict has been reached, she said that the matter is now with the attorney-general’s office for further investigation.

Loui said that despite her pain, her goal is to raise awareness about this specific issue to prevent more accidents.

Highlighting that if she had not researched further at her own initiative, the matter would not have been investigated again, she stressed that all car owners must make sure that they do not have defective airbags and act accordingly.

Interviewed after Loui, general manager at the Cyprus Import Corporation Alexis Anninos confirmed that several car manufacturers have ordered recalls for vehicles with Takata airbags.

“Recalls are normal and they are necessary for safety matters,” he said, adding that recalls are being called in relation to other products, not just those made by Takata.

He went on to explain that the way recalls work in the EU is that manufacturers notify the relevant EU bodies which in turn inform distributors, and through them, car owners.

In the case of Cyprus, the process is facilitated through the road transport department, he said.

Deputy director of the road transport department Eleni Pipi later broke down the process in detail.

She explained that car importers receive notices from manufacturers when there are issues with cars which may require recalls, meaning the car must go to the importer to be repaired according to manufacturer standards.

“Importers receive all data on vehicles from us, which we are glad to provide, and they are obligated to notify the owners who bought from them,” she added, remarking that this does not mean that all owners respond to these notices.

She added that the way car owners are notified is being reviewed, as so far notices have been sent exclusively by post, which leaves a lot of room for error as they can get lost, or sent to the wrong address.

Quizzed on what the road transport department does in case a car owner does not respond to a recall notice, Pipi said that their new course of action is to block the vehicle from passing its MOT, and send a text to the owner that their vehicle is being recalled.

Speaking to Cybc later in the day, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades commended Loui for her initiative and determination to raise awareness on the dangers of defective airbags.

He added that there have been 100 million recalls worldwide in relation to the specific airbags.

Vafeades reiterated Pipi’s previous statements, explaining that the process is being monitored by the road transport department.

He also clarified that the responsibility for the recall of airbags in Cyprus lies with the manufacturing companies and by extension the representatives here, meaning that the cost of the recall is to be covered by them and not car owners.