Simplicity and Graco cribs recall ordered

WASHINGTON - The government recalled thousands of Simplicity and Graco cribs Thursday, warning that babies could suffocate or strangle in them.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said the Simplicity recall was linked to at least one death and involved thousands of cribs, possibly hundreds of thousands, though many had previously been recalled for other defects. The agency said about 217,000 Graco drop-side cribs made by LaJobi were also being recalled.

The problem with both types of cribs stems from hardware failures. For Graco wood cribs, the side that moves up and down can break or detach, creating a dangerous gap between the mattress and dropped side. A baby can become trapped and suffocate or strangle. Suffolk County banned the sale of drop-side cribs last November after the CPSC recalled 2.1 million of them. The Simplicity recall is for all of the full-sized cribs with tubular metal mattress-support frames. - AP