Man threatens to sue showroom after car airbags fail in accident
When Jaipur resident Dushyant Malhotra bought a Hyundai Verna car in 2014, his primary motive behind opting for the vehicle was the fact that the showroom executives had told him that the car had six airbags.
“I bought the car for the use of my two younger sisters and opted for this particular model as the showroom executives told me that the airbags made it safe,” Malhotra told HT.
Three years later, his worst fears almost came true as his sisters escaped death by a whisker when their car crashed into a tree and overturned on Wednesday.
But surprisingly, not a single airbag opened with the impact of the accident. The girls had to be rescued by the police by breaking the glass of the car.
“When I reached the spot, the car was damaged beyond recognition and my sisters were fortunate to be rescued in time. But none of the airbags had opened by the impact of the collision or when the vehicle turned over!” said Malhotra.
According to the police, the accident took place on Wednesday evening, when the girls were returning from a private college.
“The accident took place near the Nahargarh Biological Park when the car collided with a tree before turning turtle. The local public informed us and we had to get the girls out by breaking the rear glass of the car,” said head constable Alladiya of Amer police station.
The police said that the girls —Priyanka (25) and Sakshi (21) — had to be admitted to a hospital.
Priyanka had to undergo plastic surgery under her eye and Sakshi also sustained several cuts and bruises. Both are traumatized, said the brother of the girl. “When we contacted the showroom officials and confronted them about the airbags, they downplayed the incident and said that accidents often happen. I am planning to take legal action against them by lodging an FIR,” said Malhotra.
When HT contacted Naveen Mathur, general manager of Morani Cars Pvt Ltd, the showroom from which the car was bought, he said that they will initiate an investigation to ascertain what went wrong. “The car hasn’t been brought to our showroom yet. Once it is brought, we will investigate the reason behind the malfunctioning of the airbags,” Mathur told HT.