Fatal Takata Truck Blast Was ‘Like a Big Bomb,’ Sheriff Says

  • Cause of initial early-morning accident still unknown, he said
  • Takata spokesman says no impact on deliveries to customers
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The truck carrying Takata Corp. air-bag inflators exploded “like a big bomb,” said the Texas sheriff whose officers rushed the scene. The cause of the grisly accident last week isn’t known, he said, and the damage was so extensive that a woman killed in the blast was identified only through dental records.

“It created a big crater,” said Tom Schmerber, the sheriff of Maverick County, where the Aug. 22 accident occurred. “It burned and killed a woman in a house 30 feet away. Her body was completely disintegrated, but they did manage to find two teeth so they could identify her.”