Delia Robles, 50, was killed in a car crash on September 30, in Riverside. She had been driving a 2001 Honda Civic when a Chevy Colorado pickup truck made a left turn in front of her at Monroe and Diana Streets, just south of California Baptist University around noon. Robles later died at Parkview Community Hospital Medical Center.
On Thursday the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that its investigation confirmed Robles was the nation’s 11th fatality involving Takata air bags. The next day, a Riverside County sheriff’s official said that Robles died of a penetrating injury to her chest.
Takata inflators can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel from their metal interior into drivers and passengers. Robles’ 2001 Honda Civic was recalled in 2008, but the repair was never made to Robles’ vehicle, NHTSA officials reported.
Riverside Police Officer Ryan Railsback said he couldn’t confirm whether an air bag malfunction caused her death because the department had not received complete reports from the coroner’s office or the safety administration as yet.
“Our investigators have not received any official notification by these agencies as to the cause of death or the conclusion of air bag’s role in that death,” Railsback said.
The problem with Takata inflators has prompted what is now the largest automotive recall in U.S. history, with nearly 70 million that have been or will be recalled by 2019, according to the administration.
Visit www.safercar.gov to check the recall status of your vehicles.
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