Florida
Florida mother Destiny Byassee killed when fake airbags ‘detonated like a grenade,’ lawsuit alleges
A young Florida mother was killed last year when her car’s counterfeit airbag “detonated like a grenade,” according to a lawsuit.
Destiny Byassee’s used 2020 Chevy Malibu passed through multiple conmen before its fake emergency airbags deployed in a June frontal collision, causing a blast that “shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout” the car, her family alleges.
“Several fragments from the blast struck Ms. Byassee in the face, head, and neck, ultimately killing her,” stated the complaint, obtained by Law & Crime.
The 22-year-old “was a mother of two young children and had her entire life ahead of her,” attorney John Morgan, who is also representing the family, said in a news release.
According to the lawsuit, Byassee bought the doomed sedan from DriveTime, a national used car company, without being given a full history of the car.
The former Enterprise Rent-A-Car car was involved in a devastating September 2022 crash that caused damage that “was so significant that the vehicle should have been classified as a total loss, issued a salvage title, and removed from service,” the lawsuit alleges.
Rather than scrap the vehicle, Enterprise allegedly sold the car to DriveTime through Manheim Auctions, Inc., which bills itself as the largest wholesale automobile auction company in the world.
It was then repaired at Jumbo Automotive in Hollywood, Florida, the complaint continues, claiming that shop owner Haim Levy “purchased counterfeit and non-compliant airbag components” by a Chinese company to replace the Chevrolet factory airbag “and proceeded to install these components into the subject Chevy Malibu.”
Not only were the dangerous fake bags used, but Levy allegedly repaired the deployed seatbelt pretensioner — the part of a complete system that tightens the belt during a crash — incorrectly, but in a cunning way that made it appear to work properly.
Byassee “had no idea that the vehicle had been improperly and illegally repaired,” her family said.
Both the counterfeit airbag and faulty seatbelt pretensioner “were signaled to deploy” during the June 2023 collision, according to the lawsuit.
“However, because the subject Chevy Malibu’s front driver-side seatbelt pretensioner was inoperable, the pretensioner did not deploy as originally designed,” the lawsuit states. “Worse, because the subject Chevy Malibu’s front driver-side airbag system included counterfeit and non-compliant components, the airbag detonated like a grenade and shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the vehicle cabin.”
The filing pointedly said that photographs depicted the “horrifying event,” including one of the “shredded and blood-soaked front driver-side airbag.”
Cathy King, Byassee’s grandmother, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 6- and 4-year-old children the young woman left behind, as well as her husband and mother.
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,” Morgan said in the release.
“Because of that, Ms. Byassee lost her life, and her children will grow up without their mother.”
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial on 14 various counts against the various defendants – including strict liability, negligence and deceptive trade practices.
Neither Enterprise, Manheim, DriveTime nor Jumbo Automotive immediately answered The Post’s request for comment.
Florida
US Coast Guard saves 8, including infant and child, after vessel capsizes off Fort Myers Beach
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
A quick-thinking crew from U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach saved eight lives, including an infant and a child, after a boat capsized Friday afternoon near the Sanibel Causeway in Florida.
Responders rushed to the capsized vessel, executing a rapid, coordinated effort that resulted in every person being safely recovered from the water.
Officials credited the success of the operation to the crew’s “relentless” preparation and teamwork.
The U.S. Coast Guard shared photos of the boat nearly completely underwater following the swift rescue. (U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach via Facebook)
AT LEAST 6 PEOPLE INJURED AFTER BOSTON DUCK BOAT OVERTURNS NEAR ENTRANCE TO POPULAR TOURIST ATTRACTION
“A successful mission is measured by the lives brought home safely,” U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach wrote in a statement on Facebook.
The Coast Guard emphasized the high-stakes rescue serves as a powerful reminder of why its crews train constantly and remain ready to respond at any hour of the day or night.
Victims were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard in Florida on Fourth of July weekend. (U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach via Facebook)
CBP, COAST GUARD INTERCEPT MIGRANT VESSEL HEADING FOR PUERTO RICO; 40 APPREHENDED INCLUDING UZBEK NATIONAL
“When seconds matter, preparation, communication, and teamwork make all the difference,” the Coast Guard station wrote. “We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our community and thankful that this incident ended with everyone returning home safely. Our thoughts are with those involved, and we’re proud of every responder who played a role in this successful rescue.”
The U.S. Coast Guard shared photos of the boat sinking into the water near Fort Myers Beach. (U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach via Facebook)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
The Sanibel Causeway is in southwest Florida, just west of Fort Myers on the Gulf Coast.
The Florida Supreme Court is reversing legal precedent that previously required judges to throw out evidence collected by police, when they don’t knock and announce themselves.
Typically, when police conduct a raid with a search warrant without giving residents enough time to answer the door, the evidence gathered is not allowed in court.
The Justices overturned that procedure in a 6-1 ruling.
Justice Meredith Sasso wrote for the majority that Florida’s knock-and-announce statute does not give judges the authority to suppress that evidence.
The ruling stems from a investigation out of Leon County. State and local police obtained a search warrant for a residence connected to a suspected trafficking organization. During the raid, police knocked and announced themselves several times, but only said they had a search warrant moments before barreling through the door.
As the case moved along, a judge ruled to suppress evidence found during that raid.
That decision was appealed and the case made its way up to the state’s Supreme Court.
Maternal health care training
The University of South Florida is sending medical educators into rural Florida communities to provide critical maternal health care simulation training to local hospital staff and first responders. FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo reports.
TAMPA, Fla. – The University of South Florida is sending medical educators into rural Florida communities to provide critical maternal health care simulation training to local hospital staff and first responders.
Florida rural medical training
The backstory:
Fewer hospitals are delivering babies or providing maternity health care in rural Florida communities, forcing pregnant women to travel hours for care. In response, USF Health launched a state-funded maternal health care training program covering 16 rural counties.
The program is led by a partnership between Florida Center for EMS at USF, Florida Prenatal Quality Collaborative and Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation. It brings high-tech simulation mannequins directly into local patient rooms. These advanced simulators can mimic life-or-death scenarios like seizures, preeclampsia and postpartum hemorrhaging.
“I was really surprised, because my background as a firefighter-paramedic I worked in an urban environment where I had those resources. But going out to the rural communities in the Panhandle, sometimes the transport time is over two hours away,” said Penni Eggers, the director of education and assistant professor at the Florida Center for EMS at USF.
The program has already trained emergency personnel in Calhoun County, and the cities of Perry and Arcadia, teaching critical symptom management from the moment a patient enters an ambulance.
Saving mothers and babies
Why you should care:
According to Eggers, 80% of maternal deaths are preventable, and up to half happen after birth. Providing rural staff with hands-on tools builds the confidence needed to handle critical issues until a patient can be safely transferred to a specialized unit.
Emergency training sentiments
What they’re saying:
“This is actually going to touch more people and save more lives, I think. This is more to me, one of the most rewarding things we’ve ever done,” Eggers said.
She added that after training, “they feel much more confident that they can handle an emergency maternal problem, and they feel that they have some tools now and resources that they can actually do their job.”
Expanding medical simulation
What’s next:
The mobile USF Health training team plans to head to Wauchula next to conduct its next simulation exercises for local health care workers.
The initiative began in 2025 as a successful pilot program in Franklin County. The positive results secured a grant through the Florida Department of Health to expand operations, which will fund the training for the next year or two.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered by FOX 13’s Briona Arradondo with the director of education Penni Eggers at USF Health’s Florida Center for EMS.
-
California7 minutes agoMother, daughter found ‘alive and well’ after going missing on Southern California hiking trail
-
Colorado9 minutes agoThousands forced to evacuate in Colorado as wildfire spreads
-
Connecticut15 minutes agoAGANORSA Leaf Aniversario Connecticut Tubo Ships
-
Delaware22 minutes agoGov. Matt Meyer kicks off July 4th weekend with ice cream treat
-
Florida25 minutes agoUS Coast Guard saves 8, including infant and child, after vessel capsizes off Fort Myers Beach
-
Georgia30 minutes agoComparing Mark Richt’s NFL Georgia stars since 2006 to Kirby Smart’s
-
Hawaii37 minutes agoState parks superintendent accused of having 2 million secret nude recordings of employees
-
Idaho40 minutes agoIdaho Falls Chamber of Commerce CEO resigns amid podcast allegations – East Idaho News
