Corona woman's death linked to recalled Takata air bag

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Jose Contreras lost his mother, Delia Robles, three weeks ago in a car crash in Riverside. Now comes the news that the 50-year-old Corona woman might have died because of a defective air bag.[br /][br /]"We were starting to heal, but this just opens up the wounds again," Contreras said.[br /][Ads /][br /]Police say Robles died when another car turned left in front of her 2001 Honda Civic, causing a crash.[br /][br /]According to Honda, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says she was she was [url HREF="http://abc7.com/news/riverside-county-woman-latest-person-killed-by-takata-air-bag/1565524/[br /]" TARGET="" REL=""]killed by a defective air-bag inflator.[/url] It was the 11th such death in the United States.[br /][br /]The defective air bags are manufactured by Takata and they inflate with too much force, causing a metal canister to rupture and potentially spewing shrapnel into the vehicle.[br /][Ads /][br /]The highest risk Honda vehicles include seven models built between 2001 and 2003.[br /][br /]Honda sent this statement: "More than twenty mailed recall notices were sent over the course of nearly eight years to registered owners of this vehicle. Our records indicate that the recall repair was never completed."[br /][br /]Contreras says he only bought the car a year ago and he drove it himself about 95 percent of the time.[br /][br /]"This is tragic," he said. "Eleven cases out of 400 million Americans, it's a pretty slim chance, and it's unfortunate that my mother was one of those persons."