Kristine Rodas, the wife of Roger Rodaswho was driving the car in November 2013, filed the lawsuit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Monday, claiming that the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT did not have a proper crash cage or safety features in the gas tank that would have saved both victims, Hollywood Reporter has said.
According to the legal documents, the vehicle did not have a “fuel cell,” which is found in many race cars and stops the fuel from igniting in the event of a crash.
The lawsuit also contends that a failure in the car’s suspension system forced it to careen out of control and strike three trees while driving down a street in Santa Clarita, Calif.
“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,” states the lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages from Porsche Cars North America.
Kristine Rodas’ attorney, Mark Geragos, stated that the investigators he hired to evaluate the wreckage and the scene refuted the claim that it was speeding at 94 mph at the time of the collision.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and California Highway Patrol released the results of their inquiry in March, concluding that it was speed rather than mechanics that caused the accident. However, engineers from Porsche aided the investigation and evaluation of the wreckage.
Roger Rodas was trained as a race car driver, according to the lawsuit. His widow is claiming negligence, wrongful death and product liability, and demands a jury trial.
Walker was filming ‘Fast & Furious 7’ at the time of his death, and Universal is now enlisting the help of his brothers, Cody and Caleb Walker, to finish some of the action scenes. The film, also staring Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson and Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, is slated for release April 10, 2015.
