According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, this is the first fatality related to an exploding passenger-side airbag inflator and brings the total number of U.S. fatalities linked to Takata airbag explosions to 26.
According to the agency, this incident is also the first involving a 2003 Dodge Ram 1500. That vehicle was one of more than 380,000 recalled in 2015 for the risk of a ruptured passenger airbag.Stellantis says the 2003 Dodge Ram 1500 trucks shouldn't be driven until repairs are made. The company says the person was killed in a May 13 crash that caused the airbags to inflate. Neither Stellantis nor the NHTSA have said where the crash happened or identified the victim.
“The older a defective Takata airbag inflator gets, the more dangerous it becomes. Please, get your airbag replaced now for your sake, and for the sake of those who love you,” said NHTSA Acting Administrator Ann Carlson in a statement released by the agency.