Fla. Infant’s Crib Death May Be Linked to Rail Involved in Recall

A 2-year-old Boca Raton, Fla., girl died after getting her head caught in her crib, a couple days before a national recall was issued because of safety concerns.

The girl was found with her head caught between a broken rail and the frame of the crib at her family’s condo on Sept. 19. She was rushed to West Boca Medical Center where the girl, named Serenity, was pronounced dead.

The baby’s mother, Connie Bergey, said the crib was a Simplicity Crib N Changer Combo, one of a dozen models listed in a recall issued Sept. 21 by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

In three earlier deaths involving Simplicity cribs, consumers had installed the drop-rail side of the crib upside down, the agency said. This creates a gap in the crib that children can slide into and suffocate.

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

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s investigators say the child’s death appeared to be an accident.

Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa., manufactured the cribs in China. The recalled cribs were sold under the Simplicity or Graco brands, from January 1998 through May 2007. The recall involves multiple models and model numbers. The company’s president, Ken Waldman, told The Associated Press that “we feel comfortable that our products are safe.”

Information from: The Palm Beach Post, http://www.pbpost.com