— Takata airbag deaths and injuries are just now coming to light after government investigations, recalls and a growing number of lawsuits. The number of deaths and injuries from exploding Takata airbags is not known, but some estimates have the total as high as 160 injuries alone.
Based on court documents and information released by automakers, the following list of Takata airbag deaths and injuries provides the name, location, make/model of vehicle involved, the date of the incident and whether it involved a fatality or injury.
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Charlene Weaver of Arizona / 2004 Subaru Impreza / Fatal
November 1, 2003: Charlene Weaver was a passenger in a 2004 Subaru Impreza when she was killed in an alleged Takata airbag-related accident. That car was not recalled until July of 2014.
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Ashley Parham of Midwest City, Oklahoma / 2001 Honda Accord / Fatal
May 27, 2009: Ashley Parham was killed while driving a 2001 Honda Accord in a parking lot. The Accord hit another car at a low speed and caused the Takata airbag to explode, sending metal through Parham's carotid artery. She bled to death in the car.
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Gurjit Rathore of Richmond, Virginia / 2001 Honda Accord / Fatal
May 27, 2009: Gurjit Rathore was killed when the Takata airbag in her 2001 Honda Accord exploded and sent shrapnel through her neck.
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Carlos Solis of Houston, Texas / 2002 Honda Accord / Fatal
January 18, 2015: Carlos Solis, 35, was killed when the Takata airbag in his 2002 Honda Accord exploded and sent shrapnel through his neck. Solis was involved in an accident which police investigators described as "minor."
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Hai Ming Xu of Alhambra, California / 2002 Acura TL / Fatal
September 3rd, 2013: Hai Ming Xu (Devin Xu) was killed while driving a 2002 Acura TL. The coroner said Xu suffered apparent facial trauma due to an object inside the Takata airbag.
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Hien Thi Tran of Orlando, Florida / 2001 / Honda Accord / Fatal
September 29, 2014: Hien Tran was killed by an exploding Takata airbag in her 2001 Honda Accord during a low-speed accident. Her wounds were so severe law enforcement thought she had been stabbed in the neck before she crashed. Florida authorities blamed her death on metal from the airbag.
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Susan Cosgrove of Fremont, California / 2013 Chevy Cruze / Fatal
March 14, 2014: Susan Cosgrove was killed in a low-speed accident while driving a 2013 Chevy Cruze. The Takata-related recall notice on her car arrived at her residence after she was killed.
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Law Suk Leh of Borneo / 2003 Honda City / Fatal
July 2014: Law Suk Leh, a 43-year-old Malaysian woman in her final week of pregnancy was killed in Borneo while driving a 2003 Honda City. Her death was attributed to a severe puncture wound on her neck from metal that exploded out of a Takata airbag.
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Kristy Williams of Atlanta, Georgia / 2001 Honda Civic / Injury
April 2, 2010: Kristy Williams was driving a 2001 Honda Civic when the airbag exploded and sent metal into her carotid artery.
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Jennifer Griffin of Orlando, Florida / 2001 Honda Civic / Injury
April 27, 2009: Jennifer Griffin was injured in a 2001 Honda Civic when the Takata airbag exploded and punctured her throat with a two-inch piece of metal.
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Suetania Emmanuel of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands / 2002 Honda Civic / Injury
November 8, 2010: Suetania Emmanuel was driving a 2002 Honda Civic when the Takata airbag exploded and sent shards of metal into her face and throat.
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Sharonda Blowe of Jacksonville, Florida / 2001 Honda Accord / Injury
March 8, 2012: Sharonda Blowe was driving a 2001 Honda Accord when she was struck in the head by pieces of metal exploding out of a Takata airbag.
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Joseph Nasworthy of Jacksonville, Florida / 2005 Honda Civic / Injury
August 5, 2013: Joseph Nasworthy suffered severe lacerations to his eye and nose when the Takata airbag exploded upon deployment in his 2005 Honda Civic.
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Stephanie Erdman of Destin, Florida / 2002 Honda Civic / Injury
September 1, 2013: Stephanie Erdman was driving a 2002 Honda Civic when she was was hit in the eye by shards of metal that shot from the Takata airbag.
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Brandi Owens of Forsyth County, Georgia / 2013 Chevy Cruze / Injury
October 12, 2013: Brandi Owens was injured in a low-speed accident when the driver’s side Takata airbag exploded and detached from the steering wheel. According to a lawsuit, metal from the airbag hit Owens in the face and left her blind in one eye.
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Corey Burdick of Eustes, Florida / 2001 Honda Civic / Injury
May 29, 2014: Corey Burdick was driving a 2001 Honda Civic when the airbag deployed and sent shards of metal into his eye.
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Claribel Nunez of Hialeah, Florida / 2001 Honda Civic / July 7, 2014 / Injury
July 7, 2014: Claribel Nunez suffered severe wounds to her forehead from shrapnel that exploded out of a Takata airbag in her 2001 Honda Civic.
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Unnamed of Florida / 2003 Honda Civic / March 2015 / Injury
March 2015: Honda confirmed the driver of a 2003 Honda Civic received neck injuries when the Takata airbag exploded in a minor accident. Hospital records confirm shrapnel was removed from the driver's neck following emergency surgery.
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Sara Baker of Florida / 2002 Honda Accord / January 2015 / Injury
January 2015: The driver of a 2002 Honda Accord had half her ear sliced off by hot exploding metal from the Takata airbag.
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Sabra Wilson of Louisiana / 2006 Nissan Sentra / March 21, 2015 / Injury
March 21, 2015: Sabra Wilson, 20, suffered cuts and burns when the passenger airbag exploded. Wilson was driving at the time, yet the explosion on the passenger side was enough to injure Wilson in her 2006 Nissan Sentra. The injury caused Nissan to expand a previous Takata airbag recall.
-- Updated April 17, 2015.
