Alarming morning: Three airbags go off in Du Quoin driver's SUV

Du Quoin police officers, firemen and an ambulance team were called to the 400 block of East Main Street Tuesday morning after a woman's driver's side airbag went off without warning while she was driving.

Then another.

Then ANOTHER.

The woman was identified as Du Quoin resident Christina Elder, who apparently lives near where the incident happened.

She was driving a 2008 Buick Enclave. She wasn't in an accident. She didn't hit anything or anybody. She didn't brake suddenly. Nothing.

Airbags are housed in your steering wheel, dashboard panel and side door panels and are designed to release on impact to prevent or limit the injury of hitting the steering wheel, dah or windshield.

The explosion is sudden and frightening.

When the driver's side airbag discharged, then deflated, Christina pulled the vehicle near the curb and called for help. As officer Chris Robinson stood nearby to assist while medics checked on her condition, a second airbag exploded on its own. Then a third. "They are loud," said officer Robinson, who had never heard one go off before. By then, there was a clear signal that something was terribly wrong with the system or sensors that control the triggering devices. The woman told police the vehicle leaks and the heavy rainfall may have something to do with it. Firefighter Rick Loyd disabled the car's battery and it was towed.