26th U.S. Takata airbag death reported, in a Ram pickup — a grim reminder to check your vehicle's recall status

Stellantis is once again urging owners of Chrysler and Dodge vehicles involved in the Takata airbag inflator recall to get their vehicles serviced. The call comes after another death during a traffic accident. On May 13, a front-seat passenger in a 2003 Dodge Ram pickup "succumbed to a serious injury consistent with those observed in previous Takata inflator fatalities." The passenger, who was also the owner, is believed to be the 26th person in the U.S. to die due to injuries from a ruptured airbag inflator, but the first passenger to die; the other fatalities have all been drivers. Beyond the deaths, there have been about 400 injuries and roughly 100 million vehicles recalled worldwide.

In the 11 years since the Takata crisis began, Stellantis has sent more than 210 million notices to owners. According to the company, it sent six recall notices to the Dodge Ram owner's home address: "All went unheeded." In a prepared statement, the automaker said this is the fourth incident in a vehicle under the Fiat Chrysler umbrella. The third incident happened in December of last year, after which Stellantis issued the same kind of statement it's issuing now.