Woman Was Eighth Exploding Air Bag Victim

A woman who died in a Los Angeles car crash has been confirmed as the eighth person to be killed by exploding air bags made by Takata Corp, US safety regulators have said.

Jewel Brangman, 26, died from neck and head injuries in September last year when the driver's air bag in her rented 2001 Honda Civic inflated with too much force, showering her with metal shrapnel.

Honda and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have both determined that the air bag caused her death.

She is the seventh victim in the US, and the eighth worldwide after the death of a woman in Malaysia.

Ms Brangman had rented the car in San Diego and was driving to Los Angeles County when she was involved in the crash.

Honda said the car was recalled in 2009, but not repaired even though the company sent four notices to its owners.

Japanese firm Takata (Frankfurt: 7TK.F - news) uses ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion and quickly inflate its air bags.

But the chemical can become unstable when exposed to moisture, burning too quickly and blowing apart a metal canister designed to contain the explosion.

In May, Takata caved in to US government pressure and doubled the number of air bag inflators it was recalling to 33.8 million - making it the largest automotive recall in US history.

Earlier this month, the company said it would stop using ammonium nitrate in its air bag inflators.

The problem, which has persisted for more than a decade, has triggered congressional hearings and investigations from the NHTSA and the Justice Department.

Ms Brangman's father, Alexander Brangman, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Honda, Takata and the Sunset Car Rental LLC of San Diego in April.

The lawsuit alleges that the air bag cut his daughter's neck and caused a severe brain injury which ultimately killed her. It also accused Sunset Rental of renting an unreasonably dangerous car.

Honda said in a statement that the Civic was purchased by its current owners an auction and was rented by Ms Brangman in August last year.

It said it had sent a notice of a passenger air bag in June 2013 to the current owners, but that repair has also not been carried out.

General Motors (NYSE: GM - news) announced on Friday it was adding more than 243,000 Pontiac Vibes, which were designed by Toyota, to the list of cars being recalled over air bag problems. The cars - from the US and Canada - are from the 2003 to 2007 models.