Family members gather outside the Capitol on Tuesday to mourn victims killed in GM ignition switch crashes. Photo courtesy: Autoblog.com
U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Thomas declined to issue a “park it now” order to General Motors related to the 2.6 million vehicles affected by the company’s ignition switch recall.
“We are pleased that the Court denied the motion for preliminary injunction filed in the Silvas case,” GM spokesman Greg Martin said.
The six-page ruling is the result of an effort by Texas attorney Bob Hilliard representing several families in Texas. Hilliard asked for the emergency injunction on April 4 because he feels the vehicles pose a significant safety threat.
“The death count continues to grow. Save tomorrow’s victim now. There have been 29 deaths and counting from GM’s defective machines,” he said at the time of the filing.
“There are over 130 serious injuries and catastrophic injuries suffered by innocent victims. We need to issue a ‘Park It Now’ mandate. It is more than necessary and our clients want these cars off the road.”
(First Look: 2015 Subaru Outback. For more, Click Here.)
The move was supported by several lawmakers, most notably Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who has advocated for such a move since April 1. He repeated his advocacy of that position during his questioning of GM’s CEO Mary Barra during her appearance before a Senate subcommittee hearing on April 2.
(Click Here to get details of the promise held by the Russian auto industry.)
In February and March, GM recalled 2.59 million vehicles for faulty ignition switches. GM has said the vehicles are tied to 31 injuries and 13 deaths. The maker maintains the vehicles are safe to drive as long as the drivers use just the ignition key. In fact, Barra said she would let her son drive one of the vehicles without reservation as along as he followed the recommendation.