Honda Motor stated on Thursday that a Takata air bag inflator burst in auto accident recently in Florida, in what could be the 19th death around the world connected to defective airbags recalled as part of the biggest automotive safety campaign in history.
Automaker said the driver of a 2002 Honda Accord was eliminated in Holiday, Florida, following the inflator burst. A formal cause of death has not been announced.
Recently, authorities in Australia stated the death of a Sydney male previously this month was most likely the outcome of a malfunctioning Takata airbag inflator.
At least 18 deaths and 180 injuries across the world have been connected to the flaw that led Takata Corp to apply for bankruptcy protection previous month. Takata inflators can blow up with extreme force, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars.
Recently’s crash included a 34-year-old woman who passed away around 6:40 p.m. on Wednesday in a head-on crash near St. Petersburg when a 19-year-old driving a 1999 Pontiac Firebird became her path, according to regional media reports.
The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sent out an investigator to Florida.
The inflator in 2002 Accords has been recalled given that 2011 and Honda stated it had mailed 21 recall notices over several years to sign up owners of this vehicle. 10 notifications had been sent out to the present registered owner, but the repair works were never ever completed, Honda stated.
“This is more proof that the recall is failing and inadequate is being done to discover the affected automobiles and fix them,” U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida stated.
Honda stated it has sufficient replacement parts and advised owners “to seek repair as soon as possible,” including that older cars, particularly 2001-2003 Honda vehicles, position the greatest safety risk.
In 2016, NHTSA prompted owners to stop driving about 300,000 2001-2003 Honda vehicles until they were repaired. NHTSA stated some 2001-2003 vehicles had as much as a 50 percent possibility of a hazardous air bag inflator rupture in a crash.
