Mother, 22, is killed after counterfeit airbag exploded during collision, spraying her face with shrapnel

A young mother was killed when a fake, defective airbag 'detonated like a grenade' during a crash and sprayed her with shrapnel, a lawsuit claims.

Destiny Marie Byassee, 22, died on June 11 last year when her 2020 Chevy Malibu had a frontal collision in Punta Gorda, Florida.

The airbag deployed, but instead of saving her life it 'detonated like a grenade and shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the vehicle cabin'.

'Several fragments from the blast struck Ms Byassee in the face, head, and neck, ultimately killing her,' the lawsuit filed on May 16, her son's birthday, claimed.

Destiny Marie Byassee, 22, (pictured with her husband Ernesto Donovan Barrientes and her young son) died on June 11 last year in a car crash in Florida

This photo shows the aftermath of the crash with the exploded airbag module with shredded airbag on the seat

The complaint was lodged with the 17th Judicial Circuit Court for Broward County on behalf of her, grandmother, husband, mother, and two children aged 4 and 6.

Byassee's family's lawyer Andrew Felix laid out a shocking series of events the lawsuit claimed led directly to her death.

The Malibu was involved in another crash on September 24, 2022, that also caused serious damage to the car and activated its original airbag.

'The damage to the subject Chevy Malibu from the crash was so significant that the vehicle should have been classified as a total loss, issued a salvage title, and removed from service,' the lawsuit claimed.

Instead, its owner Enterprise Rent-A-Car decided to sell it through car auctioneer Manheim, but first it had to be repaired.

Haim Levy, a mechanic who owns Jumbo Automotive in Hollywood, Florida, was hired to fix the car - including replacing the airbag.

The lawsuit claimed he used 'counterfeit and non-compliant airbag components' from Chinese vehicle part maker Jilin to save money.

The airbag deployed, but instead of saving Byassee's life it 'detonated like a grenade and shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the vehicle cabin'

The lawsuit was filed on May 16, her son's fourth birthday. Her daughter is six

Levy also had to replace a seat belt pretensioner, which locks the belt in place during a crash to keep the driver from being flung all the way forward.

The lawsuit claimed he again cut corners, and neither replaced nor repaired the damaged part.

'Jumbo and Levy cut the wires to the seat belt pretensioner so that the front driver's seatbelt would release from its deployed position, appear normal, and appear to function as designed and intended to an unwitting customer,' it claimed.

Manheim then sold the refurbished vehicle at auction to Byassee and she drove it around until the fatal crash months later.

'Byassee had no idea that the vehicle had been improperly and illegally repaired, that the vehicle contained counterfeit and non-compliant airbag components, or that the vehicle's front driver-side seatbelt pretensioner was disabled and inoperable,' the lawsuit claimed.

Both components failed in the crash and the seatbelt pretensioner 'did not deploy as originally designed', while the airbag responded far worse.

The lawsuit included two photos of the inside of the car in the aftermath of the crash that 'depict a horrifying event'.

One showed the exploded airbag module with shredded airbag on the seat, and the other the 'shredded and blood-soaked front driver-side airbag'.

Byassee drove the car around for months unaware it was a ticking timebomb, according to the lawsuit

A file photo of a 2020 Chevy Malibu like the one Byassee was driving when she died

'She was a mother of two young children and had her entire life ahead of her,' another lawyer representing the family, John Morgan, said.

'[Byassee] believed she was buying a safe and reliable vehicle, but our lawsuit alleges that several automotive companies worked to skirt the system by repairing what should've been a totaled vehicle, all just to make money. 

'Because of that, Ms Byassee lost her life, and her children will grow up without their mother.'

The law firm said many counterfeit airbags from China were being unknowingly installed into cars in the US.

Byassee's grandmother Cathy King is leading the lawsuit, with her mother Lorretta Simmons, husband Ernesto Donovan Barrientes, and her children named as plaintiffs.

Enterprise, Manheim, Jumbo, and Levy himself are named as defendants with unspecified damages demanded for 14 counts of negligence, violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, breach of warranty, and strict liability.