The saga that is the deaths of Fast & Furious star Paul Walker and friend Roger W. Rodas, who was behind the wheel of the Porsche Carrera GT when it crashed last year, is heading to court, as the widow of the driver sued the German automaker on Monday, alleging flaws in the design and the suspension of the 2005 mid-engine supercar.
Kristine Rodas filed a wrongful death lawsuit in which her attorney, Mark Gerargos, claims that the car was travelling at a safe speed of 55mph (88km/h) on November 30, when it “malfunctioned” and crashed, instantly killing both men.
The lawsuit contradicts the findings from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s investigation, which found that “the cause of the fatal solo-vehicle collision was unsafe speed for the roadway conditions” as the Porsche was going “between 80 and 93 mph [129-150km/h]” in a 45 mph [72km/h] zone when it hit a power pole and several trees.
According to a report from the NY Daily News, Geragos said that he “hired the top experts in the country to evaluate the wreckage and crash”. He added that the Porsche Carrera GT’s suspension system forced it to veer out of control.
“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,” reads the lawsuit.
When reached for a comment by Yahoo and other outlets, Porsche denied the allegations that there was something wrong with the design of its car.
“We are very sorry for the Rodas and Walker families’ loss,” said Porsche in a prepared statement. “The crash was the subject of a detailed investigation by the proper authorities (L.A. County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol), and their investigation disproves the allegations in the lawsuit. The investigation found that driving at a high speed in a negligent manner caused the crash and concluded that there was no mechanical defect.”
By John Halas
VIDEO