Actor Scott Eastwood has opened up about the death of his former girlfriend in a car accident.

The Longest Ride star did not name the woman, but she has been identified as 26-year-old model Jewel Brangman through photos of her with Scott on her Instagram account.

Scott Eastwood opened up about the loss of Jewel Brangman (Richard Shotwell/AP/PA)
Scott Eastwood opened up about the loss of Jewel Brangman (Richard Shotwell/AP/PA)

Jewel died in September 2014 as a result of a defective airbag in her rented 2001 Honda Civic. The airbag inflated with too much force and spewed metal shrapnel, cutting her neck and causing a brain injury that led to her death, the Associated Press reported at the time.

The airbags were part of the biggest recall in US carmaking history, and Scott, who is Clint Eastwood’s son, told GQ Australia that the cause of her death was “f***** up”.

Asked when was the last time he cried, Scott, 30, told the magazine: “I dated a girl a couple of years ago who died in a car accident.”

He said it was a minor collision and added: “There was a recall on airbags. Her airbag exploded. It shot a projectile through her body. It split her spine. I’ve never told anybody that.”

Scott said he had lost other friends before Jewel’s death but “I had never lost someone I had been really intimate with, you know, like in that way, in a relationship”.

He continued: “I think that really affected me in a way that… I don’t know. Maybe it’s made it harder for me to date.”

He confessed he had not yet called her father to send his condolences, and added: “I still haven’t found the right words.”

The Associated Press reported in April that 11 people worldwide have died as a result of the defective airbags, made by Japanese company Takata. Jewel was the eighth casualty.