Paul Walker’s daughter won’t give up on holding Porsche accountable for her father’s tragic death despite a ruling in Porsche’s favor.
Despite the victory for Porsche, Meadow Walker’s attorney told People Magazine that she still plans on fighting. Judge Philip S. Gutierrez ruled that there simply wasn’t enough evidence that would point to the manufacturer being at fault for the fiery crash that killed Paul Walker and driver Roger Rodas.
In the suit that goes back to September, they claim that the vehicle had four defects.
After the ruling, Meadow’s attorney said in a statement, “The issues in the cases are very different. Meadow’s father, Paul Walker, was a passenger in the car. He survived the crash but was trapped and burned to death because of the vehicle’s defects.”
— Christina Johnson (@manzanomom) April 6, 2016
Meadow Walker’s attorney continued, “Meadow will continue to fight to hold Porsche accountable for selling a defective product that kills.”
Kristine Rodas, the widow of driver Roger Rodas, who was driving the car at the time, said that the Carrera GT lacked safety features that would have saved their lives. As opposed to Walker, Rodas died on impact.
Rodas’ widow stated in the lawsuit that Porsche “failed to install its electronic stability control,” which is “specifically designed to protect against the swerving actions inherent in hyper-sensitive vehicles of this type.”
When the news of the verdict first broke, TMZ reported that the fuel cell being compromised was irrelevant because Walker would have been alive if he wasn’t burned.
The outlet reported, “Meadow’s lawyer is claiming the fire was the cause of Paul’s demise, and he’d still be alive were it not for a defect in the cell.”
Porsche not liable for Paul Walker’s death, judge rules https://t.co/VX2rxDwSju pic.twitter.com/mTaXLaNwuL
— CNN (@CNN) April 5, 2016
Prior to the ruling, Porsche had blamed driver Roger Rodas and Paul Walker for the car accident. Porsche claimed that the vehicle “was abused and altered after being placed into the stream of commerce in a manner that was not reasonably foreseeable to (Porsche Cars North America).” They also went on to blame Walker for his “death, and all other injuries or damages claimed, were the result of (his) own comparative fault.”
Porsche went on to say that Walker knew the risks involved by getting into the passenger seat of the car.
Meadow Walker’s attorney at the time rejected this notion.
“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.”
Still, an investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detailed that speed was the contributing factor in the death of the two men.
In March of 2014, Sheriff Commander Mike Parker said of the fatal crash, “Investigators determined the cause of the fatal solo-vehicle collision was unsafe speed for the roadway conditions.”
It’s said that the car was going between 80 and 93 mph on a road that was limited to 45 mph.
Paul Walker and his friend Roger Rodas died on November 30, 2013, following a charity event for his organization Reach Out Worldwide, which was taken over by his younger brother Cody Walker.
At the time of the accident, the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT crashed into a lamppost and two trees before bursting into flames.
Walker’s autopsy report stated that the actor died from the “combined effects of traumatic and thermal injuries.” Audio recordings from the firefighters on the scene were leaked, which revealed that there were two “DOAs,” which meant that by the time firefighters arrived at the scene, Walker had already died.
[Photo by David Buchan/Getty Images]
