Truck Carrying Takata Inflators Explodes in Texas, Killing 1

One week after an 18-wheeler crash and explosion in Quemado, a town southwest of San Antonio near the border, air bag maker Takata Corp. confirmed that the truck carrying inflators and a volatile chemical was the reason for the explosion reported CBS News.

Takata said the truck, operated by a subcontractor, was traveling from a Takata plant in Moses Lake, Washington, to a Takata warehouse in Eagle Pass, Texas, early on August 22 when an accident occurred. However, a 69-year-old woman was killed when the blast occurred in front of her home, the reports said.

The truck “was involved in an accident”, Takata said in a statement on Monday.

Takata has a warehouse in nearby Eagle Pass, Texas, and an air bag inflator factory in nearby Monclova, Mexico.

A woman was killed in her home by an explosion Monday morning involving a truckload of airbag detonation triggers which was on its way to a Takata automotive parts plant, according to multiple reports.

“We don’t think the accident has anything to do with the defect”, a company spokeswoman said, adding that it appeared the supply truck was in a road accident that caused a fire and then the deadly explosion.

Takata said it sent personnel to the site to help investigate the incident.

A Takata spokesman in the United States said that the company had reported the incident to USA safety regulators and was cooperating with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Local reports say the blast damaged about 10 nearby homes, sent debris flying nearly a mile through the air and created a crater in the ground that closed U.S. Highway 277 on and off for about 30 hours so it could be repaired. “Our thoughts are with the family of the woman who died as a result of this accident, and with the four people injured”.

Prolonged exposure of the defective Takata inflators to hot and humid conditions has been found to cause air bags to explode with excessive force, spraying shrapnel into passenger compartments.

The Takata airbag recall, which includes driver- and passenger-side airbags, spans 14 automakers, 22 brands and includes more than 100 million vehicles worldwide.