Criminal Probe Of Dealer In Airbag Case

Chris Halsne KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Investigative Reporter

A car dealer tied to the accidental death of a customer is now the subject of a criminal probe by Washington State Patrol investigators, Team 7 Investigators have learned.

Our undercover operation caught a Seattle car lot cutting airbags out of used cars, then selling them to an unknowing public.

One of those customers was Seattle nursing assistant Damaris Gatihi. She died in a car crash after the phony airbags didn't deploy.

Mechanics from S&M Auto admit that they're the guys who created a fake airbag cover for Damaris Gatihi's car dash. A piece of plastic was installed instead of a real airbag.

We shared that information with Washington State Patrol detectives, who responded by recently seizing Gatihi's wrecked vehicle as "evidence." Our investigation also dug up records that show this is not the first time the dealership has been in deep trouble.

The day Chopper 7 hovered over Damaris Gatihi's crushed Toyota Corolla, KIRO-TV aired 18 seconds of news: "Driver killed, snarled traffic for hours."

We knew there was more to this death. Based on a tip from a tow truck driver, KIRO Team 7 Investigators discovered Gatihi's car had its airbags removed before the crash by S&M Auto. Gatihi's brothers say the dealership lied, telling them their sisters car had working airbags.

"Oh no, no. In a hundred years, no, we'd not think somebody would be that careless to even try to do something like that. I mean, you can't even fathom something like that to happen. Somebody that is selling a car having someone think there's an airbag. That's an assumption that has apparently allowed S&M Auto to create extra profit for some time," James Gatihi said.

According to Department of Licensing documents, the state revoked the dealership's license for a year in January, 2000. S&M Auto also paid a $6,000 fine for cheating customers.

"Insurance fraud, auto theft, questionable business practices -- all interlinked," said Jim Cronin, an independent insurance fraud investigator from Mukilteo.

Cronin helped the state bust S&M Auto in 1999. He's not surprised by our discovery that the dealership is failing to replace airbags in used cars.

"It's a massive problem here in the state of Washington, up until now, we've had a band-aid approach to it," he said. "The consumer pays for it, whether it's in terms of money or in this case, a tragic loss of life."

"I'm a man that follows the law. I don't go behind the law, said Vik Lim.

Vik Lim runs day-to-day operations at S&M for his mother. We discovered he routinely buys up totaled cars at auction under the name Lim's Automotive, then fixes them up to sell, usually minus some standard safety equipment.

Chris: "You don't feel like you have a moral obligation to put airbags back in your cars for the safety of those people who buy them?"

Vik: "Some customers don't mind that. Sometimes they don't want to pay more because its a salvaged car."

Criminal investigators now want to know if Lim really gives buyers that option.

"Anybody that dummies up a vehicle to make it look like it has airbags is probably engaging in fraud, trying to build value that doesn't exist," said Doug Walsh, Assistant Attorney General.

Damaris Gatihi didn't live long enough to discover if she'd been ripped off.

Even if you have never heard of S&M Auto, you may still own one of its cars. KIRO Team 7 Investigators found nearly 800 vehicles on our roads right now with connections to S&M Auto. See if your car is among them.