Photo: Edited by Autoevolution
The federal court judge presiding over the case of Roger Rodas’ widow against Porsche in California dismissed all claims against the German luxury auto maker, on September 17th. According to the judge, Kristine Rodas did not manage to prove the company was responsible for the death of her 37-year old husband, which was driving the car the moment it crashed, killing him and Fast & Furious star Paul Walker, last year.
Six months after the fiery crash in which the Fast & The Furious star Paul Walker and his friend Rodas, who was driving him in a Porsche Carrera GT, died, Kristine filed a negligence lawsuit against Porsche. Rodas’ widow claimed the German automaker was responsible for the death of her 37-year old husband, arguing the car had a faulty part in the suspension and also lacked a “crash cage to protect the driver” and “racing fuell cel to prevent fire in the event of a crash.”
We’ll remind you the initial report issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff showed the 2005 Carrera GT was traveling at 93 mph (150km/h), way over the speed limit, on old tires. Back then, Porsche sent their own investigators after the crash, who found not only there was nothing wrong with the car, but that the “vehicle had been altered from its original design state and had not been maintained properly.”
However, Rodas still has one chance to prove her case, considering the judge gave Kristine an amended complaint, so we might just see the story go further.
We’ll remind you the initial report issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff showed the 2005 Carrera GT was traveling at 93 mph (150km/h), way over the speed limit, on old tires. Back then, Porsche sent their own investigators after the crash, who found not only there was nothing wrong with the car, but that the “vehicle had been altered from its original design state and had not been maintained properly.”
Rodas has one chance left
According to Radar Online, Porsche claimed Rodas’ widow incorrectly called the Carrera GT a “racecar” and argued that “no ordinary customer would expect a passenger car” to have a crash cage and racing fuel cell. The judge said the widow failed to plead her case that the car should be equipped with “more extensive crash safety features than typical road cars because racecars operate at extremely high speeds and drivers routinely maneuver in risky ways, resulting in higher occurrences of both crashes generally and of severe crashes.”However, Rodas still has one chance to prove her case, considering the judge gave Kristine an amended complaint, so we might just see the story go further.
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