While
airbags save lives, for the Hurds, they have finally brought justice.
In 2004, two brothers, Forrest and
Douglas Hurd, were killed when their truck was rammed by a car at a stop sign. Witnesses of the accident thought they
saw the car’s driver move from the driver’s side to the passenger. The suspect, Raymond Moss, said
otherwise.
Forensics microscopy expert Glenn Schubert confirmed the witnesses’ testimony. He proved
that a car’s airbag can leave a singe pattern on a person’s clothing as it rapidly expands to protect the
driver or passenger. The singe, which is leaked through the seams of the airbag, is different for the driver and the
passenger. Schubert showed that Mr. Moss had, indeed, been the driver that took the Hurd brothers’ lives.
Schubert first established using airbag burns as evidence in an earlier case. His findings can be found in the
Journal of Forensic Science (November, 2005).