GM's ignition-switch crisis deepens; death toll rises to 16

General Motors Co's (GM.N) ongoing safety crisis over deadly ignition switches deepened on Monday with the recall of 8.23 million mostly older cars linked by the U.S. automaker to three deaths.

The latest recalls boosted the number of deaths acknowledged by GM to at least 16 in cars with switch-related problems. The automaker said it now knows of 61 crashes tied to faulty ignition switches, although U.S. lawmakers and safety regulators have said they expect the death toll to climb.

The latest fatalities occurred in two separate high-speed crashes, one involving a 2003 Chevrolet Impala, the other a 2004 Impala, according to GM spokesman Jim Cain. The air bags failed to deploy in both crashes, Cain said, but GM cannot conclusively link the nondeployment to the ignition switches.

"Among these recalled vehicles,