11th air bag death

Photo: The Canadian Press

A 50-year-old woman who died after a car wreck last month in California is the 11th U.S. victim of Takata Corp.'s defective air bag inflators.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration confirmed the woman's death on Thursday but didn't release her name. Up to five people also may have been killed by the air bags in Malaysia, bringing the number of deaths globally to as many as 16.

The agency said the woman, identified in Riverside County, California, coroner's records as Delia Robles, 50, of Corona, was driving a 2001 Honda Civic. Riverside police said in a statement that a man making a left turn in a Chevrolet pickup truck was hit head-on by the Civic. The woman was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died from her injuries, the statement said.

"The left turn: that's what caused the collision," police officer Ryan Railsback told the Riverside Press-Enterprise, adding that police continue to investigate with state and federal help. "They're still working on whether the air bag system played any role in the death."

Takata air bags can inflate with too much force, which causes a metal canister to rupture and spew shrapnel into the vehicle. Tokyo-based Takata, unlike other manufacturers, uses the chemical ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that inflates air bags in a crash.

But the chemical can deteriorate when exposed to prolonged high heat and humidity and can burn faster than designed. That can blow apart a metal canister designed to contain the explosion.

The problem touched off what is now the largest auto recall in U.S. history. More than 69 million inflators have been recalled in the U.S. and more than 100 million worldwide. Takata faces billions in costs.