Peloton recalls treadmills, halts sales, after a child dies

NEW YORK — Peloton is recalling about 125,000 of its treadmills less than a month after denying they were dangerous and saying it would not pull them from the market, even though they were linked to the death of a child and injuries of 29 others. The recall comes after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission warned on April 17 that people with children and pets should immediately stop using the Tread+ treadmill after a child was pulled under one of them and died. “Peloton unacceptably put consumers at risk,” Blumenthal said, adding that he would work to strengthen the safety commission so that “companies like Peloton no longer get to call the shots on consumer safety.” Under current laws, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has to negotiate with companies in order to release warnings about a product’s hazards. Joseph Martyak, a spokesman at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said the agency is still testing the treadmills, but it appears the design of the Peloton Tread+, including its belt and its height off the floor, could make it more likely to pull people, pets and items under the machine than other brands of treadmills. The safety commission still recommends that people stop using the treadmill, but for those that want to keep it, Peloton said it will move it free of charge to a room where children or pets cannot access it and update the software so a passcode is required to unlock it.