On July 7th, 2023, just after dark, we were going to head to town. I took a seat in our family 2017 Jeep Patriot, laughing; my wife was already seated. While I was mid-sentence, leaning backward at angled momentum to my headrest, shutting the door like I do from 2 previous shoulder surgeries, BOOM!!! Seemingly timed to the door slamming shut.

 According to FCA Chrysler, unlike SRS airbag warnings on everything, there are no distinguishable markings. I did not know our vehicle had such a device.

 An expert witness court opinion report states approximately 120# of force felt about right.  You can see, judge for yourself watch the AHR fully deploy 3 times faster than an airbag 14/1000th of a second time stamped; the video is on my website.  

 The screams of my wife over and over again, in rapid succession, "What going on?" Time stamped to memory, seeing spots, a metallic taste in my mouth and sinuses, reoccurring nightmares that someone is hiding behind us.

I've learned a lot over the last 13+ months of healing since diagnosed with hyperacute flexion injury, a concussion, TBI, PTSD, still going through speech therapy for cognitive memory deficit diagnosis, I underwent a 3-level neck fusion.

At the time of the AHR random deployment, I maintained a 98.8 GPA on cybersecurity coursework to get off Social Security disability. Memory and PTSD issues have put on hold my education to enter one of the largest entry pay fields with cyber security. However that was dwarfed by a lucrative offer, licensing and plans to enter an emerging industry as well blown away. 

I believe and will demonstrate with common sense that FCA Chrysler's randomly exploding Headrests can and do cause injury in many ways, including wiping dreams away, memories, and talent.  I prayed to still be able to sing (top-charting singer-songwriter) after my neck fusion; my skilled Neurosurgeon delivered that, but due to paralysis, which may or may not resolve, I do not have the dexterity to play guitar as of this time.

  When the AHR, so few aware even exists, randomly deployed, I was sure, just sure, someone struck me in the head and was going to kill me, then attacked my wife.

I thought I was going to black out (again?). I fought back with every inch of the fight, guarding my face against another strike, squeezing between the bucket seats despite a cage in my lower back, and trying to grab any clothing I could get my hands on.   But nobody was there.

 Next, I thought, it sounded like a gunshot; I "'m shot, is my wife shot? I checked her for blood, and she was still screaming.

Not even the first responders knew of such a defective device behind potentially millions of heads. They tried to push it. Mine doesn't behave like one batted around like a YouTube slinky. I question whether it is a prop.

 My life has been irrevocably changed. As it turned out, I wasn't alone in filing an NHTSA complaint; numerous incident reports exist, and I believe it's only a matter of time before someone dies, if not already, and under an NDA agreement, but that would take an act of Congress to figure that out. 

I am speaking up for vulnerable classes of citizens, including the elderly, children, veterans with previous concussions, TBIs, PTSD, and those with common spinal issues like degenerative disk disease and cervical arthritis. Astonishingly, despite these reports, FCA Chrysler maintains in paraphrase that their exploding active headrests have virtually zero chance of causing harm to anyone. That statement is seemingly fundamentally flawed and in defiance of common sense to me in view of what I've discovered.

I showed the crash test dummy video to my top-rated Neurosurgeon, Dr. Venita Simpson, MD, FAANS, of Abrazo Brain and Spine.  Though others are treating my concussion and TBI, as a brain surgeon, she offers her professional opinion that in close proximity to a randomly deployed AHR, the speed and force is capable of severe flexion and could cause a concussion or TBI.

Evidence highlights that you can see the time-stamped headrests 'deploy' or explode at a shocking speed, as observed in crash test dummy videos. While the dummy's head, positioned at a safe distance, remains untouched during full deployment, one can only imagine the disproportionate impact these exploding headrests would have if the head were within close proximity.   Your signature on this petition will demonstrate to politicians and lawmakers that something needs to be done to force FCA Chrysler to at least admit the harm these devices can and have been reported to NHTSA to have caused. If the Sunlight on Litigation Act were to have not floundered since 2014, perhaps some light would have been shed on the subject.

FCA Chrysler must be held accountable for camouflaging its mistake under defective, denial-based narratives. We urge the CEO of FCA Chrysler not just to acknowledge the massive harm and injuries caused by its defective product but also to offer just compensation and redressal to those afflicted. The lives this issue touches are real, and they need more than evasive corporate assurances.

 You can follow my real-time story at AdvocateWriter.com, where you will find links to videos, court Opinions, my medical progress, and more. With FCA Chrysler's history of fraud and back-to-back criminal probation sentences and still serving one as of the launch of this petition, it's up to you to decide if we can trust they will do the right thing.

With defiance of common sense, in defiance of public safety, with seeming slaps on the wrist and fines that don't seem to make an impression to a Giant, the time to act is now, with urgency and empathy.

Please sign the petition today; our public officials need to act before someone dies from these aging, defective devices if someone already hasn't.

Thank You

Emory Caudill