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Was the Death of 5-Year-Old Aidon Ng Due To A Seat-back Failure?

By Wayne Parsons

Why do people die in car crashes? Some answers are easy. Some are hidden from view.

I imagine myself tonight with the Ng family in Waimea.

Three family members are dead. My wife died last year. I understand. Let me stop and catch my breath and pay respect. Life goes on.

But I do want to know why Aidon died?

Why did the Chevrolet station wagon, carrying a family of 4, cross the centerline? Police are investigating speed and alcohol. But I suspect more to this tragic story. Only the 8-year old girl in the Chevrolet remains alive. I am wondering if a defective front seat mechanism caused the death of Aidon Ng.

Police said the Chevrolet driven by a 32-year-old Waimea man crossed the center line and collided head on with the Mercury SUV driven by a 47-year-old Keaau man.

When police arrived at 11:54 p.m., one person in critical condition was in the roadway. The Waimea man and a 30-year-old Waimea woman were pinned in the station wagon and their two children, a 5-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl, were in the back seat.

Rescuers used the Jaws of Life to remove the victims from the vehicle.

The Waimea man and woman and the boy who were in the Chevrolet station wagon died at the North Hawaii Community Hospital.

Why did Aidon Ng die? Was it a defective seat anchor? Yes, he was a passenger in the rear seat of the Chevrolet that crossed the centerline. But why did he die? Was it the collision or was Aidon surviving the collision when the front seat broke lose from its anchors and crash into Aidon killing him. Kids are vulnerable. I'll bet they thought he was going to be safe in the rear seat. For most American auto makers the rear seat is dangerous for kids.

The Honolulu Star Bulletin reports the death of Suzanne Ng, 30-years-old, and her son Aidon Ng, 5-years-old, in a crash in Waimea on the the Big Island that is being investigated for alcohol and speed. The head-on crash was just before midnight on Saturday. Suzanne and Aidon were riding in a station wagon that crossed the center line on Mamalahoa Highway and smashed into an on-coming vehicle driven by a Keaau man near Mana Road in Waimea.

Both Suzanne Ng and the driver of the station wagon died in the crash, as did 5-year-old Aidon. Another child in the station wagon, an 8-year-old girl, also in the backseat with Aidon, was in critical condition last night.

Suzanne Ng was in the passenger seat and Aidon was in the back seat. Both lived in Waimea. The identity of the driver, a 32-year-old man, was being withheld pending positive identification.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 1999 Mercury multi-purpose vehicle, was flown in guarded condition to the Queen's Medical Center.

Would seat belts have saved lives? Suzanne Ng and the 8-year-old girl riding in the back seat, and the driver of the other vehicle were wearing their seat belts. The driver of the station wagon and Aidon were not wearing seat belts.

Any time a child is killed in the back seat of a car the question is whether the front seats broke their hinges and crashed into the kids in the rear seats. This is a major engineering issue and a prime example of defective products. Most car manufacturers build defective seats in cars and children like Aidon and the 8-year-old girl die in a collision. Parents put their kids in the back seat for safety. In a collision like in Waimea on Saturday at midnight, if the front seat fails it crashes into the child in the back and often that is the cause of death. Mom did the right thing. She put her child in the rear seat. The automobile manufacturer did the wrong thing. They made a car with a seat that they knew would kill Aidon Ng.

Is that what happened in Waimea on Mamalahoa Highway near Kana Road? I'd like to know. The research is readily available. We can prove it from the crash data.

I know. The station wagon with Suzanne and Aidon and the 8-year-old girl crossed the center line. The driver is dead. Suzanne is dead. What happened? On Aidon and the 8-year-old girl I hope someone investigates the seats in their car.

Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call Big Island Officer Marvin Troutman at (808) 326-4646, extension 229.

My sincere condolences go out to the families.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Wayne Parsons

Full post as published by Honolulu Personal Injury Lawyer on September 07, 2009 (boomark / email).