This is the cbs evening news with scott pelley. Pelley good evening. This is our western edition. Those defective General Motors ignition switches did more harm than we knew. Today the death toll was raised from 13 to 19. The new number came from ken feinberg, who is in charge of gms Victims Compensation fund. Hes received a total of 125 death claims. Some are still being evaluated, so the death toll is expected to grow. Heres jeff glor. Reporter in 2006, 18year old Natasha Weigel was killed inside a chevy cobalt inside rural wisconsin. G. M. Had not linked her death to a defective ignition switch until today, when ken feinberg released his first report. Ken rimer is natashas stepfather. Its not closure for us, but its a step in the right direction. G. M. s faulty switch, which we first reported on in bruary, can cause engines to suddenly shut off, disabling air bags and other safety features. Gm first detected a problem during testing in 1999. They were still put in cars starting in 2
Ronald Aurthur Rimer, age 89, of Hudson, WI, passed away on June 6, 2022 at Westfields Hospital. Ron and his twin brother Jim were born on October 1, 1932 to
Ronald Aurthur Rimer, age 89, of Hudson, WI, passed away on June 6, 2022 at Westfields Hospital. Ron and his twin brother Jim were born on October 1, 1932 to
reporter: to the parents of natasha weigel, are you saying that might change? again, we don t know. right now the information we have indicates the number of 13. they died in the same car. she just as gone as amy. reporter: both families have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against gm. the company tells cnn it is taking steps to treat these victims and their families with compassion, decency, and fairness. we made serious mistakes in the past, and as a result, we re making significant changes in our company to ensure they never happen again. she wanted to be a rock star was her small little goal in life. reporter: making it even harder to stomach for these families, gm s own internal investigation shows gm had the collision report of the crash that killed natasha and amy, tying the ignition switch to the air bag failure in 2007. but none of the gm lawyers and engineers working on cobalt matters recall being aware of this report until this year. i love her.
general motors announcing four more recalls including half a million camaros for a problem similar to the flawed ignition switch in cobalts. that has been tied to at least 13 deaths. but what exactly counts as part of that tally? poppy harlow has that story. reporter: natasha weigel loved hockey, hoodies and poetry. she would make me laugh. and we would dance around and sing. reporter: she was just 18. we walked down the aisle to her funeral. an unfinished life. god needed a goalie. reporter: amy was just 15. she adored movies, the color orange, and laughed like it was her job. she had a crazy laugh. sounded like a cross between woody woodpecker and a chipmunk. reporter: two lives cut short on 2006 on this wisconsin road. amy sitting in the front, natasha in the back. did speed cause this crash? we do not feel speed was related to the crash. reporter: weather? was not related to weather. reporter: alcohol involved? no.