By Yoko Kubota
TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co said on Friday it was expanding to the state of California a U.S. regional recall of vehicles over potentially explosive air bags made by Takata Corp after a driver was injured in an accident in the state.
California is one of the biggest markets for the Japanese automaker in the United States. Honda decided to expand the recall after it was told on June 25 about an accident involving a 2005 model Accord that had taken place there in May, a spokeswoman said.
According to a complaint filed to safety regulator the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the air bag in the car shot out "hot metal and plastic shrapnel" after a collision, leaving the driver with "severe burns, bruises and abrasions on her arms and legs".
"While this case does not match the areas that NHTSA has determined, Honda is adding California into the areas in which it is conducting a regional recall in order to investigate the cause," the Honda spokeswoman said.
It was not immediately clear how many vehicles would be recalled.
Takata's spokeswoman was not able to comment immediately on the matter.
In June ,Honda and six other automakers said they were recalling vehicles in some high humidity regions at the request of U.S. safety regulators to see if faulty Takata air bag inflators had been installed in their vehicles.
Honda is recalling vehicles in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas, as well as Puerto Rico, Florida, Hawaii and the Virgin Islands, regions determined by the NHTSA.
Automakers have recalled about 10.6 million vehicles globally over the past five years with air bags supplied by Takata, the world's second-biggest automotive safety parts maker. That tally excludes the U.S. regional recalls.
At least two deaths are alleged to have been caused by faulty air bags.
(Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Miral Fahmy)