Houston, Texas - Honda is probing a deadly crash in the United States possibly linked to exploding air bags blamed for killing at least five people, and which sparked the recall of millions of vehicles worldwide.
The unidentified driver of a 2002 Honda Accord died in a crash last week in Houston, and the cause may have been a faulty airbag inflator produced Takata.
American Honda said late on Thursday night: “We have been informed of a possible Takata driver's airbag inflator rupture in the crash, which resulted in the death of the driver.
“Since this tragic event occurred very recently, no official cause of death has yet been determined by local authorities. We are currently working with representatives of the driver's family to gain the access necessary to conduct a comprehensive investigation.
“Honda has communicated preliminary information collected to date about this crash to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,” it added.
The US safety regulator has demanded a recall of all cars in the US with the suspect Takata airbags on the driver's side.
CALLS FOR CRIMINAL PROBE
Takata's Tokyo headquarters would not comment on the latest fatal accident, despite a Bloomberg News report quoting the airbag maker as saying it was working with Honda to determine the cause of the accident.
Bloomberg also reported that the driver's family had filed a lawsuit against Honda, Takata and the dealership where the car was purchased.
Takata is facing lawsuits, calls for a criminal probe, and accusations of “deception and obfuscation” over the potentially deadly defect, while Honda has also been named in a US lawsuit that alleges it conspired with Takata to hide the flaw for years.
Honda said the Accord involved in the crash was part of a 2011 recall to replace the driver’s side airbag inflator, but it had no record of the repair work being done.
About 20 million vehicles produced by some of the world's biggest manufacturers, including Toyota and GM, have been recalled due to the risk their Takata-made airbags could deploy with excessive explosive power, spraying potentially-fatal shrapnel into the vehicle.
One US woman's death was initially investigated as a murder due to her grisly injuries until police switched their focus to the car’s airbag.
AFP