Defective Takata airbag inflators have seemingly caused the death of a tenth victim, and automakers will be expanding recalls yet again, according to Reuters.
An unidentified man in South Carolina was killed on December 22 when he hit a cow in his 2006 Ford Ranger and metal from a ruptured inflator sliced his neck, Reuters said. The death is the ninth in the U.S.—one fatality occurred in Malaysia—and the first death to occur outside of a Honda vehicle since that automaker started recalling Takata airbag inflators in 2008. The ninth U.S. fatality was confirmed in December. The 2004–2006 Ranger is among the 1.5 million Ford vehicles subject to the Takata recalls.
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Another five million cars will get new recall notices, but it’s not clear whether these cars have already been named in existing Takata recalls to replace the driver- or passenger-side airbags. A total of 19 million cars from 11 automakers have been affected by the problem. Ford, Mazda, and Subaru are expected to announce new recalls, but more companies may be involved. Stay tuned for more.
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