[Cervical avulsion fracture caused by an air bag].

In a 30-year-old man who had crashed his car into a stationary vehicle at a speed of 100 km/h, after which an airbag inflated, a fracture of the spinous process CVII was diagnosed. The patient had not used a seat belt. This injury has not previously been reported in the literature as an airbag related injury. The patient was very tall (2.00 m) which probably led to hyperflexion of the cervical spine over the airbag.