A Louisiana woman could be the seventh fatality linked to faulty Takata Corp. airbags that are now part of an unprecedented recall.
DETROIT, MI - A Louisiana woman could be the seventh fatality linked to faulty Takata Corp. airbags that are now part of an unprecedented recall.
According to Bloomberg, a lawsuit says 22-year-old Kylan Langlinais died from injuries suffered in an accident just two days before she received a recall notice for her Takata airbag-equipped 2005 Honda Civic.
She crashed into a utility pole on April 5, and a complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in Lafayette, La. says the recall notice arrived April 7. She died April 9. The complaint says the driver's-side airbag exploded and sent shrapnel flying through the passenger compartment.
There was substantial damage to Langlinais' car, but no one witnessed the wreck so it's not known how fast she was going, a lawyer for the driver's mother told Bloomberg. However, the attorney, Kenneth D. St. Pe, said that her sole serious injury was that her throat was cut open.
Takata announced last month it is recalling 33.8 million vehicles in the U.S. for the potentially faulty airbags. Faulty driver- and passenger-side airbags have been linked to at least six deaths, including five in the U.S., and more than 100 injuries.
Eleven automakers are affected, and several have begun sourcing replacements parts from other suppliers as affected car owners bring their vehicles in to dealerships to be fixed.
Motorists can look up their vehicle identification number, or VIN, to see if it is affected here at the safercar.gov website.
The unprecedented recall has been so massive that Takata has struggled to supply replacement parts.
Investigations by automakers, Takata and regulators have been searching for the root cause of the defective airbags. So far, the consensus is that the chemical propellant that ignites the air bag inflators can be damaged by moisture over time in humid environments. Once damaged, the propellant becomes explosive.
David Muller is the automotive and business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter