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2007 CHEVROLET COBALT — ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH

1 fatalcrash · 1045529 · 2014-03-13

Vehicle

Make
CHEVROLET
Model
COBALT
Year
2007
Manufacturer
General Motors, LLC
Component
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH
Miles at failure
2,000
Speed
30 mph

Severity

Deaths
1
Injured
0
Fire
No
Crash
Yes
Police report
No
Medical attention
No
Vehicle towed
No

Narrative

ON FEBRUARY 21, 2008 3:21 A.M. I WAS CALLED BY ALLEGHENY GENERAL HOSPITAL (AGH) IN PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA TO INFORM ME THAT MY SON WAS TAKEN THERE BY HELICOPTER AND WAS UNRESPONSIVE. HE WAS IN A CAR ACCIDENT AND SUFFERED SEVERE BRAIN TRAUMA. UNFORTUNATELY HE DIED ON FEBRUARY 29, 2008. THIS WAS MY SON'S FIRST "NEW" VEHICLE. WE PURCHASED IT ON 12/3/2007 AND HE DIED IN IT 2 MONTHS LATER. THE VEHICLE IS A 2007 CHEVY COBALT. THE ACCIDENT WAS INVESTIGATED AND THE POLICE BELIEVE MY SON FELL ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL AS HE CROSSED THE CENTER LINE OF A 2 LANE ROAD AND HIT ANOTHER VEHICLE. THE PERSON IN THE OTHER VEHICLE SURVIVED. AFTER RECEIVING THE FIRST RECALL NOTICE ABOUT THE IGNITION SWITCH ISSUE I CONTACTED THE CAR MANUFACTURER (GENERAL MOTORS) TO INQUIRE ABOUT WHETHER THEY WOULD INVESTIGATE THE VEHICLE TO DETERMINE IF IT WAS DEFECTIVE AND COULD HAVE BEEN THE CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT. I WAS TOLD BY A GM REPRESENTATIVE THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO AS THEY HAD FILED BANKRUPTCY. I CONTINUE TO RECEIVE THE RECALL NOTICES WHICH LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT MY SON'S DEATH IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CHEVY COBALT DEATHS. I FIRST CONTACT THE US DEPT. OF JUSTICE AND GOT NOWHERE. I THEN CONTACTED YOUR ORGANIZATION (NHTSA) - REFERENCE# 614104 AND WAS TOLD THAT I NEEDED TO GO BACK TO GM. IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT BOTH ORGANIZATIONS ARE INVOLVED IN AN INVESTIGATION OF GM HOWEVER NOBODY AT EITHER ORGANIZATION SEEMS TO WANT TO TALK TO ME. I DON'T TRUST GM AFT

Source

Authoritative
NHTSA ODI Flat-File Downloads
ODI Number
10569028
Machine
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