Ford found negligent in death from air bag

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A jury found Ford Motor Co. negligent and awarded $3.3 million to the 7-year-old son of a woman killed when the air bag of her Ford Taurus deployed in a low-speed accident.
Mayling Semidey, 29, a single mother, hit a concrete retaining wall at about 9 mph in 2000. The air bag went off and caused fatal chest injuries.
The civil jury found the air bag system of her 1996 Taurus to be defective.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has investigated the risk of air bags to small-statured women and children who are close to the air bags when they deploy. But Semidey was 5-foot-9 and was wearing a seat belt.
Richard Newsome, lead attorney for the family, said older air bags can be problematic for people of any size if the victim is too close when it goes off.