1 million Simplicity, Graco cribs recalled after 3 babies die

WASHINGTON -- About 1 million Simplicity and Graco cribs are being recalled after three children became trapped in their cribs and died of suffocation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday.

Two infants, a 6-month-old and a 9-month-old, died in the recalled cribs, which were sold through May. A 1-year-old child died in a newer model of the cribs, which has not been recalled but is being investigated by the safety agency, CPSC officials said.

Commission spokesman Ed Kang would not comment on when or where the children died. Simplicity spokesman Joe Householder said the company will not release further details about the deaths out of respect for the families.

Simplicity, of Reading, Pa., is listed as manufacturer of all the cribs, which were made in China. The recalled cribs were sold nationwide, under the Simplicity or Graco brands, from January 1998 through May 2007. The recall involves multiple models and model numbers.

A spokesman for family-owned Simplicity said stores where the cribs were sold included Wal-Mart Stores.

In all three deaths, the consumer had installed the drop-rail side of the crib upside down, the CPSC said. This creates a gap in the crib that children can slide into and suffocate.

Seven other infants have been trapped in the cribs, according to the CPSC. There have been 55 reports of the cribs' drop sides detaching or the hardware failing to hold the side to the crib.

"CPSC is also aware of two incidents that occurred when the drop-side was correctly installed with older style hardware, though the upside down installation greatly increases the risk of failure," the agency said.

"Simplicity strives to make safe products, that is our number one priority. That's why we worked with the CPSC to take this action," Simplicity president Ken Waldman said in a statement.

In a separate recall in June, the commission recalled about 40,000 Nursery-in-a-Box cribs, manufactured by Simplicity, because the assembly instructions incorrectly explain how to attach the drop side.