Lawmakers start grilling General Motors CEO

Lawmakers started their hearing on the General Motors ignition switch recall by demanding answers from the company’s CEO Mary Barra and acting head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration David Friedman about why the problem went overlooked for a decade.

According to a subcommittee investigation, General Motors knew about the faulty part but twice passed on plans to fix it.

Meanwhile, lawmakers alleged NHTSA officials identified that air bags in certain vehicles did not deploy in crashes.

It wasn’t until December 2013 that GM linked the two issues, lawmakers said.

“The red flags were there for GM and NHTSA,” said Rep. Tim Murphy, R-PA, chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

For more on this story, see Vindy.com and Wednesday’s Vindicator.