CPSC to make massive recall of cribs with dropdown sides, CBS news says

CBS News claims the Consumer Product Safety Commission is about to announce one of the largest crib recalls in United States history, involving cribs with dropdown sides, fearing they may be unsafe, even deadly.

"Early Show" Consumer Correspondent Susan Koeppen, said now there is a major push to ban those types of cribs. Tyler Jonathan was only 10 months old when he died in the very place his mother, Michele Witte, thought he'd be safe -- his crib, Koeppen says.

"That's every parent's safe-haven for their child, and to see the horrific site of him strangled ... was just horrifying to me," Witte told Koeppen.

Tyler had been sleeping in a crib with a dropdown side, Witte says. Somehow, he was able to get his head stuck in a gap between the side rail and headboard.

"I just fell to my knees and I started screaming," Witte recalls.

The federal government has recalled nearly 5 million cribs in the past two years -- many of them with drop down sides, Koeppen said.

"Parents like the convenience of having the side drop down," CPSC Chair Inez Tenenbaum said, "The hardware used by many manufacturers to make the sides drop isn't substantial. We have been relying on voluntary standards," for crib safety but, "We find that is no longer enough. We will now be writing. (Or proposing) federal regulations that are mandatory for cribs."

The CPSC isn't alone. Starting in February the legislature in Suffolk County, on New York's Long Island has banned the sale of dropdown side cribs. And Toys 'R us is no longer selling drop side cribs.

Also, a measure just approved by the organization that sets safety guidelines for the crib industry, makes full-size cribs with dropdown sides a violation of voluntary safety standards.

Witte wants a federal ban in place soon.

"We cannot have a crib that takes the lives of ... infants ... out there on the market for unknowing consumers," she remarked.

The CPSC says it has no doubt dangerous and recalled cribs are being used in homes right now in America.

Koeppen says CBS News is waiting to hear more about the crib recall, and the specific cribs involved, and expects to have more on the recall on "The Early Show" on Tuesday.

Koeppen advises parents who have a crib in their home that has dropdown sides to check to see whether it's already been recalled. The CPSC suggests checking the hardware to see if it seems solid. Feel the side rail. If you can move it back and forth, that can be dangerous. And stop using the side rail. Don't put it up and down anymore.