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Is Porsche Responsible For Paul Walker’s Death? Late Actor’s Daughter Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

By Val Powell
Published on: 21:30 PST, Sep 30, 2015

Paul Walker’s teenage daughter, Meadow Rain, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against German sports car company Porsche, claiming that the sports car her father was riding on the day of his death had several mechanical defects.

The lawsuit, which was filed earlier this week, states that the sports car lacked an electronic stability control system, a feature that enables drivers to sustain control in extreme conditions. The absence of this feature caused the car to swerve away from the open road and into an electric pole. The papers also claim that the car had insufficient side door reinforcement bars, and the faulty seat belt trapped the actor in the passenger seat. “The bottom line is that the Porsche Carrera GT is a dangerous car. It doesn’t belong on the street,” Walker’s legal representative, Jeff Milam, said. “And we shouldn’t be without Paul Walker or his friend, Roger Rodas.”

Meadow and her guardians are seeking unspecified damages, although the court filings say they wish “to recover all damage… including, without limitation, all lost income and earnings (present and future), expenses, and all general and special damages to the extent allowed by law.” Milam claimed that the company was aware that the Porsche Carrera GT “lacked safety features that are found on well-designed racing cars 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.”

Porsche spokesperson Calvin Kim, gave a statement on Tuesday in response to the lawsuit filed by Meadow. Since they have not seen the lawsuit, they are unable to release an official statement. He also mentioned that the authorities’ reports stated that the car crash that occurred almost two years ago resulted from “reckless driving and excessive speed.”

In March 4, 2014, Commander Mike Parker of the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department said that investigators had concluded that the cause of the collision that killed Walker and Rodas was too much speed and not mechanical failures. Findings revealed that the sports car was running between the speed of 80 and 93 mph when it crashed into a light pole and trees, which was way beyond the 45 mph speed limit on the California road. “The mechanical examination revealed no pre-existing conditions that would have caused this collision,” experts said in their report last year.

However, a source who looked closely at the lawsuit filed by Meadow’s camp said that the investigators who studied the surveillance video of the car crash thought the car’s speed was not beyond the speed limit. The suit states that the sports car was running at an approximate speed of 63 to 71 mph. Even the family’s investigators thought the car was travelling between 40 and 60 mph, a reliable source revealed.

It was also concluded that there were no traces of alcohol or drugs in Walker and Rodas’ system. The two were also wearing seat belts when the accident happened, and it was also noted that the airbags deployed accordingly. Paul’s daughter has yet to comment on the subject, but her attorney is speaking on her behalf.

It was revealed in an autopsy that Walker died before the fire broke out. The Fast & Furious star’s body was badly burned, and his right wrist and left arm were fractured. The two men were found in a pugilistic stance, meaning, in a defensive position.

Paul had fractures on his left jawbone, pelvis, collarbone, ribs, and spine while his friend, Rodas suffered “severe blunt head, neck, and chest trauma,” police reports declared.

The actor died before he could finish filming Fast & Furious 7. The movie earned more than $1.5 billion. His cast mate Vin Diesel announced this week that the Fast & Furious series will end after three more films.

[Image by Ernesto Ruscio, Getty Images]

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