Meadow Walker says car lacked features that could have saved actor’s life in crash
The daughter of deceased “Furious 7” star Paul Walker has filed a lawsuit against automaker Porsche, claiming that the car her father died in lacked safety features that could have saved his life.
In her suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, Meadow Walker claims that the Porsche Carrera GT was licensed for use on the road and was capable of a top speed of 205 m.p.h., yet “lacked safety features that are found on well-designed racing cares or even Porsche’s least expensive road cars — features that could have prevented the accident or, at a minimum, allowed Paul Walker to survive the crash.”
The actor died in a November 2013 crash in Southern California.
The younger Walker’s complaint alleges that, despite Porsche being aware that the Carrera GT had “a history of stability and control problems,” the company failed to install its electronic stability control system, and lightened the weight of the car by using side-door reinforcement bars that “lacked adequate welds and consisted of material weaker in strength than what is used in popular mass-market cars.”
The lawsuit points out further alleged defaults that, Walker claims, contributed to her father’s death.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department determined that the deadly crash was the result of “unsafe speed,” with traffic collision experts finding that the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT was traveling between 80 and 93 miles per hour when it collided with a power pole and multiple trees. The posted speed limit on the Santa Clarita, California, road where the crash occurred was 45 mph. Despite the sheriff’s department report, the lawsuit contends that the car was only traveling 45 to 55 m.p.h. when it struck the pole.
Walker was a passenger in the vehicle and the wife of driver, Roger Rodas, has also filed suit against Porsche, maintaining that the crash occurred because of a failure in the car’s suspension system, as well as a lack of proper safety features.
In that suit, the automaker has denied wrongdoing, placing the blame on Rodas himself, and also suggests that the car was “misused or improperly maintained,” which “contributed to the alleged incident and to the injuries, loss, and damages, if any.”
“It is with great reluctance that Meadow Walker has authorized the filing of this lawsuit on her own behalf and as heir to Paul Walker‘s estate,” Walker’s attorney, Jeff Miliam, told TheWrap in a statement. “She’s a teenage girl who is still dealing with the tragic loss of her father. She values her privacy and won’t be making any comment. We ask everyone to respect that.”
Alleging negligence and wrongful death, the suit seeks unspecified damages.
