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Family Voices
Jared
submitted by his mother, Pam
On April 25th, 1997, our son Jared was killed when one of the side
rails of his Evenflo Happy Camper play yard/portable crib collapsed.
He became trapped in the V-shape of the collapsed rail and suffocated
to death. Jared was a happy, spirited baby. He had the most beautiful
blue eyes and was so full of life, you couldn’t help but to fall in
love with him. We are still mourning his tragic death.
What makes Jared’s death even more tragic is that it didn’t have to
happen. Jared was the 11th baby to die in this type of portable
crib/play yard, with rotating center hinges on the top rails.
He was the 3rd victim of the Evenflo brand. In response to the
mounting number of reported injuries / deaths associated with this
type of design, the Evenflo happy Camper should have been recalled
long before Jared’s death. The Happy camper was finally recalled by
Evenflo after Jared’s death, but only after continued pressure from
the CPSC.
I assumed like many other parents, that children’s products had to go
through rigorous testing and follow stringent government safety
standards. I also assumed that a product would not be sold if there
were safety problems associated with it. I was shocked to learn that
this is not the case.
Before Jared’s death, a voluntary safety standard for play
yards/portable cribs with this type of design was being finalized.
However, Evenflo chose to continue to sell their product "as is" —
playing Russian Roulette with the lives of our children and Jared lost.
Since Jared’s death, there have been three more children who have fallen
victim to the design flaw of this portable crib/play yard. I urge all
parents and caregivers to discontinue using these death traps, and to
report all injuries associated with children’s products immediately to the CPSC.
To those parents who have lost children, my heart goes out to you and your
families. God bless all of you.
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Jared
(b) 08/06/1996
(d) 04/25/1997
Jared suffocated to death when he became wedged in the collapsed
side rail of his Evenflo Happy Camper. Evenflo recalled Jared’s Happy Camper
play yard only after increased pressure from the Consumer Products Safety
Commission.
During the finalization of voluntary safety standards for play
yards/portable cribs, Evenflo opted to continue to sell the Happy Camper "as is."
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For more information, check out:
Product Hazards/Portable Cribs
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