Is Porsche Guilty In Paul Walker’s Death? New Lawsuit Says Yes
Fast & Furious star Paul Walker’s death is now the subject of a lawsuit by his 16-year-old daughter, Meadow Rain Walker. In the wrongful death lawsuit against Porsche, it is claimed that the car manufacturer is to blame for the death of Paul Walker in a November 30, 2013 crash. Walker’s daughter is suing for unspecified damages, according to Global News.
The Porsche in question was marketed as a race car that can be licensed for the road, according to the LA Times. It comes equipped with a 605-horsepower engine and the ability to do up to 205 mph. However, the lawsuit alleges that car manufacturer took safety short-cuts with the model and that led to Paul Walker’s death.
New York Daily News reports that the lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, and goes after Porsche for a number of design flaws, including not installing an electronic stability control system into the Carrera GT Paul Walker was killed in despite a long history of control issues with this particular model. It is a system that Porsche has installed on a number of its other vehicles.
Paul Walker died when the Porsche he was travelling in, driven by his friend Roger Rodas, burst into flames after it lost control and hit a tree. It is alleged that the way the seatbelt was mounted on the rear engine compartment of the car was also a faulty design and played a role in Walker’s death.
The lawsuit claims that Paul Walker was first crushed by the seat belt of the Porsche, having his clavicle, ribs, and pelvis broken, keeping him trapped in the seat, but still alive. Walker’s actual death, it is alleged, was the result of soot inhalation from the fire that broke out in the car 1 minute and 20 seconds after the crash. Because of the belts and his broken bones, he was not able to get out of the car to safety.
Furthermore, the lawsuit claims that the rubber fuel lines of the Porsche were not fitted with “break free fittings” that would stop the flow of fuel which could have prevented or slowed the fire.
Combined, all of these manufacture defects in the car are directly responsible for the death of Paul Walker according to the lawsuit.
“Absent these defects in the Porsche Carrera GT, Paul Walker would be alive today”
Meadow Walker’s lawyer, Jeff Milam, was quoted in Yahoo Celebrity after discussing the lawsuit with TMZ, decreeing the car Walker was in was unsafe and therefore Porsche is responsible for death of his client’s father.
“The bottom line is that the Porsche Carrera GT is a dangerous car. It doesn’t belong on the street. And we shouldn’t be without Paul Walker or his friend, Roger Rodas.”
According to Us Magazine, the lawsuit also doubts the speed in which Paul Walker and Roger Rodas were travelling when the crash occurred. Police reported that the Porsche going between 80 to 93 mph. However, the suit alleges that the car was actually going 63 to 71 mph.
Another wrongful death lawsuit currently pending in a Los Angeles Federal Court, filed by the wife of Roger Rodas, Kristine, alleges the car was in fact only going 55 mph. Porsche has already denied mechanical faults are to blame for the deaths in that case.
After the disastrous crash, which took the life of Paul Walker, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol, along with Porsche engineers, investigated and determined that the reason for Walker’s death was the high, unsafe speed Walker and Rodas were travelling. This new lawsuit questions those findings.
Meadow Walker is Paul Walker’s only child which made her the only heir to his estate, which was estimated to be around $25 million at the time of his death. This year would have been Paul’s 42 birthday, and in honor of her father, Meadow launched a non-profit group to provide grants in the field of marine science through the Paul Walker Foundation.
[Paul Walker memorial photo from Getty Images / David Buchan]
