As part of the investigation conducted by the Catanzaro Highway Police and coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Court of Catanzaro, relating to criminal proceedings concerning the death of a woman following a road accident in Catanzaro, elements have emerged to hypothesize, at this stage, that the contributing cause of death was connected to the defective functioning of the Takata airbag, installed on the Citroen C3 car driven by the victim.
The malfunction would consist in the circumstance that the chemical compound that caused the uncontrolled explosion of the airbag, alters over time and becomes increasingly unstable, especially in the presence of conditions of high temperature and humidity.
The above mentioned vehicle was the subject of a recall campaign by Groupe PSA Italia Spa, owner of the Citroen brand, together with other DS brand vehicles with the same serious defect. ( https://www.mit.gov.it/comunicazione/news/auto-campagna-urgente-di-ririamo-veicoli-citroen-c3-e-ds3 )
Moreover, there have been previous similar cases of uncontrolled explosions of Takata airbags that have caused injuries to drivers of the cars.
The proceedings for the alleged crime are still in the preliminary investigation phase.
TAKATA airbags with similar safety problems are currently installed on 173,328 vehicles circulating throughout the country, produced from 2009 to 2019, of which 920 vehicles circulate in the province of Catanzaro.