Defective Takata airbags tied to another death in the United States

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed Thursday that a 50-year-old woman in southern California who was killed in a car accident in September is the 11th known person to die in the U.S. due to defective Takata airbags.

The woman, whose name was not released, was driving a 2001 Honda Civic in Riverside County when the wreck took place. Honda says the vehicle had been included in several Takata recalls, beginning in 2008, and their records show the registered owner was sent at least 20 recall notices, but the airbags were never replaced in the car.

The affected airbags contain a chemical that creates a small explosion that inflates the bags after a crash. When the chemical is exposed for long periods of time to high heat and humidity, it can burn faster than it should, causing a metal canister to explode and shrapnel to come flying out. In the United States, more than 69 million inflators have been recalled.

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