(Bloomberg) — The death of a woman in a recent car crash inLouisiana is probably the seventh fatality linked to Takata Corp.'sdefective air-bag inflators in the U.S., the National HighwayTraffic Safety Administration said.

The statement comes just days after the mother of KylanLanglinais filed a lawsuit claiming that when her daughter's HondaCivic hit a utility pole in April the air bag deployed with toomuch force and sprayed shrapnel that ultimately led to herdeath.

"After examination of the vehicle and other evidence, NHTSA hasconcluded that a ruptured Takata air-bag inflator is likely to havebeen involved," Mark Rosekind, the agency's administrator, said inan e-mailed statement Friday without commenting on the lawsuit.

The agency has been trying to speed the pace of repairs for alingering defect that's now estimated to affect about 34 millionair-bag inflators. Automakers and regulators have had troublereaching every owner because the defect dates back years and manyof the cars have changed hands.

Registration records indicate Langlinais bought her car, a 2005Honda Civic, in October 2014, Honda Motor Co. said in a statementFriday.

Langlinais, 22, didn't receive a recall notice for her Civicuntil after the April 5 crash, according to the lawsuit filedMonday in federal court in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Honda said it's in contact with Langlinais's family members toaddress their concerns. The Japanese automaker is cooperating withthe U.S. government investigation, and a NHTSA representative waspresent during the inspection of the ruptured inflator.

"This tragedy underscores the necessity of the actions NHTSA istaking to ensure that every vehicle on America's roads has a safeair bag," Rosekind said.