The widow of the driver of the car that Paul Walker was in when he died is alleging the fiery crash was due to faulty mechanics.
Kristine Rhodas, wife of driver and Walker friend Roger Rhodas, is suing Porsche Cars North America for negligence, wrongful death, and product liability. In her suit, Rhodas claims that faulty mechanics and a lack of safety features are to blame for the men’s deaths back in November.
“The Carrera GT was unsafe for its intended use by reason of defects in its manufacture, design, testing, component, and constituents, so that it would not safely serve its purpose,” the lawsuit said.
Rhodas believes that if the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT was equipped with a crash cage and heavily protected fuel cell, like most racing cars are, the deaths would not have occurred.
“A properly functioning crash cage would have prevented the death of Roger Rodas and Paul Walker,” the suit says.
Even without a crash cage to protect the fuel tank, the lawsuit states that, “the fire would have been prevented had the vehicle been fitted with a proper racing fuel cell.”
The Los Angeles Coroner released a report after the crash concluding that speed, not a malfunctioning error, was to blame for the accident. The report stated that the vehicle was traveling at over 100 mph when it swerved and crashed into a pole. An investigation conducted by the Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol indicated basically the same.
Rhodas’ suit, however, claims the men were traveling at only 55 mph at the time of the accident when a failure in the suspension system caused the collision.
Rhodas is suing for an unspecified amount and has requested a jury trial.
Do you think the suit has merit? Leave your opinions in the comment section below.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
