An Australian woman has become the first local victim of a faulty Takata airbag.
The Takata airbag in her Toyota RAV4 SUV was one of about 100 million worldwide to be recalled.
Sixteen deaths have been reported worldwide.
Takata, a Japanese auto parts company, was fined $1.3 billion in February for deliberately hiding evidence that its airbag inflaters could explode with too much force, sending shrapnel flying.
Northern Territory Police Sergeant Mark Casey says normally this type of crash wouldn’t cause serious injury.
“Investigations have revealed the vehicle was the subject of a worldwide recall for faulty airbag manufacture in 2015,” he says.
“The recall involved approximately 100 million vehicles around the world, including 2.1 million vehicles in Australia.”
A spokesman for Toyota Australia told the Sydney Morning Herald that the manufacturer is “cooperating with Northern Territory Police in their investigation”.
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