The National Highway Traffic Safety administration ( NHTSA) reported another death in a vehicular accident involving the use of faulty Takata air bags, the 11th such death in the U.S.
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The victim was Delia Robles, a 50-year old woman who was driving a 2001 Honda Civic when it hit a Chevrolet pickup head-on. She was immediately brought to a nearby hospital but she died from her injuries.
Police authorities said that the accident happened when the Chevy pickup made an abrupt turn and hit the Honda Civic. They are still investigating whether the air bag was a factor in the death of the victim
The victim's son, Jose Contreras, told reporters that her mother was safety-conscious and always kept the seat belt on when driving. He is planning to take legal action for those responsible for her mother's death.
Car manufacturer Honda issued a statement saying that its "thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family of the driver during this difficult time."
Takata air bags have been found defective in the past and its products were subject to recall in 2014 involving BMW, Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, and Toyota. The latest defect was in the metal canister which breaks apart and churns out metal bits into the car during the explosive process of inflating the air bags.
Takata, a Japanese company has spent billions of dollars in the biggest recall in the U.S. auto industry. So far, 69 million air bags have been replaced in the U.S. and more than 100 million worldwide.
The 2001 Honda Civic model driven by the woman was included in the recalls where notices were sent to car owners. The car was one of many other cars whose car owners have not availed of the free air bags replacement offer despite many notices.
Since June, NHTSA has advised the owners of 300,000 older model Acura and Honda cars not to use them until they have the air bags replaced.
