GM apologized to families of accident victims for sending them recall notices for defective ignition switches. The automaker has recalled 2.6 million models to replace defective ignition switches which have caused at least 13 fatalities.
However, GM sent notices to bring in cars for repairs even to families that lost loved ones in the fatal crashes. Some of these families have complained that GM should not have sent them the notices.
“We are deeply sorry to those families who received a recall notice,” GM spokesman Greg Martin told Reuters. For instance, a mother who lost her 16-year-daughter in a 2005 Maryland accident involving a Chevrolet Cobalt said she received two recall notices from GM last week asking her to bring in the vehicle to fix the ignition switch and power steering.
Of course, GM ignored the fact that the car was destroyed when the girl crashed into a tree. Her mother said GM could have identified the totaled car through a simple check of Vehicle Identification Numbers.
Although GM has linked 13 deaths to the defective switch issue, federal regulators believe the death toll is bigger. According to a Reuters analysis of federal crash data, at least 74 people have died in General Motors cars in accidents which share some key similarities to those that GM has linked to the defective switches.
By Dan Mihalascu
PHOTO GALLERY
