An eleventh person has died in the United States as a result of a shrapnel-shooting Takata airbag, according to federal safety regulators.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed Thursday the death of a 50-year-old woman in California last month was linked to a defective Takata airbag in a Honda Civic.
The woman was driving the 2001 Honda Civic on Sept. 30 when it struck another vehicle, making a left turn, head on. The woman was rushed to the hospital, where she died from her injuries, CBS News reports.
NHTSA says the vehicle, which was recalled in 2008 but never fixed according to records, was included in the segment of Honda and Acura cars deemed to be of “substantially higher risk” for explosive, deadly deployments.
The California death makes the tenth in a Honda vehicle in the U.S. Ford is the only other carmaker to have a vehicle involved in a Takata-related death. Earlier this year, the Dec. 22 death of a Georgia man driving a Ford Ranger pickup was linked to airbag shrapnel.
Honda said in a statement to CBS News that its “thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family of the driver during this difficult time.”
The carmaker reiterated NHTSA’s claim that the vehicle had been on the recall list for years, noting that it had sent the registered owner more than 20 recall notices since 2008. However, because the woman purchased the car in 2015, it was unclear if she had received the notices.
The woman’s family tells CBS News that she was driving to get a flu shot when the crash occurred.
“My mom was a very safe driver. Seat belt was on, always,” the woman’s son said. “She was very loving, charismatic. Always had a smile.”
Faulty Takata airbags take 11th life in U.S., a grandmother: feds [CBS News]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist
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