ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Channel 9's Kenneth Craig got a look inside a car where an exploding air bag killed an Orange County woman.
Hien Tran crashed her 2001 Honda Accord last month and was killed after her neck was punctured.
Tran's family believes she would have survived the crash had the air bag not exploded in her face.
Tran was on her way home from work when the very thing that was designed to save her ended up taking her life.
The death has since been linked to the recalled Takata air bag, which she didn't know had problems.
It was not easy for Tina Tran to talk about her sister.
She said Hien Tran was a hard worker who came from Vietnam.
She said her sister loved America.
“The story about my sister makes me very sad and (it’s) very confusing,” said Tina Tran. “It didn’t have to happen like that.”
The air bag issue sparked national outrage and a new push by federal safety regulators for a nationwide recall.
Tran's autopsy shows shards of metal from the exploding and recalled air bag ultimately killed her.
Her family is now suing Honda and the air bag maker on claims they didn’t do enough even though the automaker may have known about the issue for 10 years.
“It’s a big hole for my family,” Tina Tran said.
Tran's sister told Channel 9 her family feels betrayed by Honda and that’s why they decided to speak out now.
Officials from Takata and several automakers are set to testify Thursday before a U.S. Senate committee about what they knew about the danger of the air bags.
WFTV
