Parents Say Wal-Mart Sold Faulty Bikes

Nine Families Join Lawsuit Against Wal-Mart, Dynacraft, Claiming They Knew Bikes Were Defective

(CBS)  Nine families are suing Wal-Mart and bicycle maker Dynacraft. The lawsuit claims Dynacraft bicycles sold by the retail giant were defective, causing the front wheels to pop off, which sent kids face-first into the pavement.

As The Early Show consumer correspondent Susan Koeppen reported Thursday, the families want the bikes recalled.

According to Koeppen, Wal-Mart is the No. 1 seller of bicycles in this country. Nearly 500,000 of the bikes in question were sold at Wal-Mart stores across the country. The families who are suing say they don't want other children to be injured.

Cathy and Darrell Belyeu are among the families that are suing. They say they never imagined the bike they bought their son at Wal-Mart would lead to a terrible accident. But it did, they say, when the front wheel suddenly popped off.

They say Colton flew over the handlebars and hit the pavement head-first.

"All I could see was his face, just bloody, all the skin torn off all the way down to his neck, and he's just sitting there in a state of shock, and all I could think of was to just scoop him up and hold him," recalled Darrell Belyeu.

Colton suffered second and third degree burns on his face, a broken nose, and a concussion.

His case isn't isolated. According to Koeppen, other children have been in similar accidents on these bikes, all of which came with a quick-release lever for the front wheel.