A Florida woman found herself in an tough situation when she couldn’t get into her car where she had left her small child. General Motors says it is investigating what went wrong with the automobile’s OnStar system.
Christina Tuffords was loading groceries into her car where she had already placed her baby in the car seat. Tuffords started the engine and turned on the air to keep the baby comfortable while she finished loading her purchases.
The problem started, however, when Tuffords realized that she had left her keys in the car after shutting the door and locking herself out. Her baby was still inside with the car running. She had initially used her remote to start the engine. Now, she couldn’t gain access to her 10-month old daughter.
Tuffords immediately called OnStar, who informed her that they couldn’t unlock the car because her subscription to the service had expired. This, in spite of the fact that Tuffords’ baby remained locked inside.
She then called police, who attempted to gain access but were unable to do so. Finally, a bystander used a tire iron to punch out the window so that Tuffords could get her baby out of the car.
Tuffords says that she told OnStar, “I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll pay whatever amount of money it takes. Please, just reactivate my service so you guys can unlock my car.” OnStar had no sympathy, even though there was a baby locked inside.
If you have the OnStar service, be advised that according to GM, once a subscription to the service expires or is cancelled, the system is deactivated and our connection to the vehicle is removed.
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