Agency calls for crib safety checks after two children die

WASHINGTON -- A recall of nearly 1.6 million cribs, triggered by the suffocation of two 8-month-old infants, has prompted a government agency to urge parents to inspect older drop-side cribs for safety problems.

Both of the suffocations involved infants who became stuck in a gap created when the movable side came off its guide track. The recall was announced Monday.

The incidents, which involved Delta Enterprise cribs, involved safety pegs that are intended to prevent the drop side from lowering too far and slipping off the track. If these pegs are not installed, or if they fail to engage, the drop-side can detach and create a gap where babies can get stuck.

"We ask parents to inspect your crib from time to time and tighten up the hardware," Nancy Nord, acting head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said in an interview Tuesday. "It's very important that parents understand they need to inspect the integrity of the hardware."

In May 2007 an 8-month-old girl from Bryan, Texas, died because the safety pegs on her crib were not installed. The crib's side detached, leaving a gap where she got stuck and suffocated. More than a year later, in July, an 8-month-old boy in Tallahassee, Fla., suffocated after a spring-loaded safety peg failed and allowed the side of his crib to detach.

Nord urged parents to make sure that moving parts on cribs are functioning smoothly and securely and cautioned them not to try makeshift repairs.

The Delta Enterprise recall included 985,000 drop-side cribs of various models, because of the potential for missing safety pegs. The recall also included 600,000 cribs of various models with spring-loaded safety pegs.

The recall doesn't affect any cribs now in retail inventory, CPSC said.

The company will offer consumers replacement safety pegs or spring peg kits.

"We're erring on the side of caution," said Jack Gutt, spokesman for New York-based Delta Enterprise said Monday. "Anyone who calls and has these cribs that were constructed in these time periods, we're going to send anybody and everybody either additional safety pegs or the retrofit kit."

Nord said her agency is in the early stages of creating additional safety standards for cribs to address their durability.

"It's time to take another look at the crib standards," she said.

For details on the recall, call 800-816-5304 or visit http://www.cribrecallcenter.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.