Scott Eastwood did not reveal the name of his former girlfriend in his emotional revelation about her death this week, but she has since been identified as aspiring model Jewel Brangman.
According to People, the “Longest Ride” actor dated the 26-year-old in 2014 up until her death on Sept. 14 when she rear-ended a van while driving from San Diego to Los Angeles.
Although Eastwood described the accident as a “fender bender,” Brangman was killed because “her airbag exploded. It shot a projectile through her body. It split her spine,” the actor told GQ Australia in a new interview for the September/October issue.
Brangman was the eighth person killed by exploding air bags made by Takata Corp. of Japan, U.S. safety regulators and Honda Motor Co., the Associated Press reported last year. Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration each said that they had determined the air bag caused her death.
Brangman had rented a 2001 Civic, which Honda said was recalled in 2009 but not repaired even though the company sent four notices to its owners.
A photo posted by JewelAlexandraBrangman (@jewelalexandra) on
Her death subsequently prompted her father to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the car manufacturer and the rental car company.
“My life changed. It was horrific,” Alexander Brangman told San Diego’s ABC-10. “Air bags are supposed to save lives … not be the cause to take them.”
In his intimate revelation, Eastwood told GQ: “I’ve lost friends before; I’ve lost some great friends. But, I had never lost someone I had been really intimate with. Maybe it’s made it harder for me to date.
“I still never called her father. I still haven’t found the right words,” he said.