Families of GM Crash Victims Seeking Answers From Automaker

Families of victims who died in General Motors vehicles with faulty ignition switches were asking questions ahead of GM's annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, keeping the pressure on the embattled automaker. "A lot has happened at GM, and that's good," said Ken Reimer, stepfather of 18-year-old Natasha Weigel, who was killed in an accident involving a Chevy Cobalt in Wisconsin in 2006. "But we still have a lot of questions and we're not going to just let this die." General Motors' shareholder meeting comes at a tumultuous time for the automaker, which last week said it had dismissed 15 employees—many who were senior executives—for failing to catch or alert others at the company about the faulty ignition switch that has been linked to at least 13 deaths and the recalls of millions of vehicles. It's unclear if any of the families of victims will actually go into the meeting, which will be held at its downtown Detroit headquarters, but anyone who owns a share of GM is free to attend. Last week's firings came as General Motors released the results of an internal investigation by former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas. CEO Mary Barra characterized the ignition switch saga as a series of events riddled with incompetence and negligence. And as she has done since the recalls began in February, she apologized and extended condolences to victims' families following the release of the investigation. For many families, the apologies have done little to ease their pain. But that may be changing—at least for the Reimers. "When we saw Mary release the investigation and vow to change GM after everything that's happened, Jane [Ken's wife] said, 'I think she's sincere in wanting to change GM,'" Ken Reimer said. That said, he still has numerous questions and is still frustrated and upset at the lack of action among GM engineers and lawyers. Documents found that engineers within the company knew about the problem as far back as 2001. "Reading that report, it's very unnerving nobody stood up sooner inside GM to get to the bottom of the ignition switch problems," Reimer said. Because Natasha Weigel was riding in the back seat of the Cobalt when it crashed, she has not been officially listed as one of 13 victims killed in a recalled car. As it now stands, the compensation program, which will begin accepting claims in August, is only available to families of front seat riders in fatal crashes tied to the ignition switch issue. But after releasing the results of its internal investigation, GM said the number of accidents and fatalities linked to the ignition switch may be raised pending the review of Ken Feinberg, the attorney in charge of establishing the compensation fund. The Reimers' attorney, Bob Hilliard, had already contacted Feinberg. "We are not saying the number of eligible parties will be limited to 13," a GM spokesman said. "Mr. Feinberg will review the facts and he alone will determine the final number of eligible individuals. We will make public the number of fatalities and serious physical injuries as ultimately determined by Mr. Feinberg."

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