DETROIT (AP) – An exploding Takata air bag has claimed another life, this time a 17-year-old girl whose car crashed near Houston.
The girl is the latest victim of malfunctioning air bag inflators that have killed 10 people in the U.S. and another in Malaysia, touching off the largest automotive recall in U.S. history. More than 100 people have been hurt by the inflators, which can explode with too much force, blowing apart a metal canister and sending shards into drivers and passengers.
The girl, from Richmond, Texas, was driving a 2002 Honda Civic in Fort Bend County, Texas, when the car rear-ended another vehicle and the air bags went off, said Sheriff’s Deputy Danny Beckworth, who investigated the crash. Shrapnel hit the girl’s neck, killing her, said Beckworth, who has not yet determined how fast her car was going.
The crash, Beckworth said, was “moderate” and wouldn’t have caused any serious injuries if not for the air bag. “Everybody would have walked away,” he said.
So far 14 automakers have recalled 24 million U.S. vehicles to replace the inflators, which are powered by the chemical ammonium nitrate. Scientists hired by a consortium of automakers have determined that prolonged exposure to airborne moisture and high temperatures can cause the chemical to deteriorate. The inflator canisters also can allow moisture to enter in areas with extreme humidity.