Exploding Takata air bag kills Arizona driver
This latest incident brings the death toll to 26
LANSING, Mich. (KYMA, KECY) - A driver of a 2002 Honda Civic was killed by an exploding Takata air bag inflator, making it its 17th death reported in the United States.
The worldwide death toll sits at 26, with 17 of the deaths occurring in the United States and the other nine deaths happening in other places.
The cause of the death comes from Takata using volatile ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion to inflate the air bags when a crash occurs.
However, when the chemical deteriorates due to moisture in the air, the explosion can blow apart a metal canister and hurl shrapnel towards the driver and passenger.
The latest deaths have caused the largest series of auto recalls in U.S. history, with at least 63 million inflators recalled.
