Takata Corp., the auto-parts maker behind the industry’s largest-ever safety recall, said the truck of a subcontractor that was transporting air bag inflators and propellant exploded last week in Texas, killing one person and injuring four more.
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The explosion occurred around 2:15 a.m. on US 277 near Quemado on August 22 as the truck, operated by a subcontractor’s driver, was headed to Takata’s storage facility in Eagle Pass.
The truck “was involved in an accident”, Takata said in a statement on Monday.
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. According to preliminary reports, the accident caused a fire, which led to an explosion.
Takata has a warehouse in nearby Eagle Pass, Texas, and it has an air bag inflator plant in Monclova, Mexico.
A spokesman for the Japanese supplier confirmed to Reuters that the truck was carrying airbag inflators and propellants with ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound that is at the heart of the massive safety recall for the airbags. It reportedly took the Laredo, Texas medical examiner two days to identify Robles based on her dental records.
Local media reports said the driver of the truck was a 20-year-old man who, along with a passenger, were able to escape from the truck before it exploded. The company says it sent people to the site and is helping authorities investigate the crash. “Our thoughts are with the family of the woman who died as a result of this accident, and with the four people injured”.
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Takata, the company now infamous for an airbag defect cover-up that led to the deaths of 13 confirmed people, the injuries of hundreds more and one of the largest recalls in history involving almost 100 million vehicles, operates a plant in Eagle Pass, Texas which is where the truck involved in the explosion was reportedly headed.
