The airbags supplied by Takata Motor Corp. may have claimed yet another life in Malaysia, after an inflator on the driver’s side has been found ruptured during a fatal crash.
According to AutomotiveNews, quoting local newspaper TheStar, a 44-year old woman driving a Honda City has been killed in an accident in the Southeast Asian country on Saturday.
Pronounced dead at the scene, the victim, who could become the third death this year in Malaysia linked to the faulty Takata airbags, had injuries to her chest from a foreign object coming from the center of the steering wheel.
Honda Motor Company confirmed with the local police that the driver’s airbag inflator had ruptured in the crash, but the cause of death has yet to be determined.
The vehicle, a 2005 City, was part of a recall issued in May 2015 and should have had both front airbags replaced. According to Honda, though, despite three recall notices having been sent to the owner, the repair was never done.
Takata Motor Corp. didn’t comment on the subject, but it is well known that the inflators could explode after long exposure to heat and humidity, sending shrapnel towards the occupants. So far, ten people have been killed in the USA due to the defective parts, and if the latest fatality will be linked to the faulty airbags, then the number would rise to 15 globally.
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