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Paul Walker Death: Wife of Star's Friend Suing Porsche for 'Malfunction'

Paul Walker Death: Wife of Star's Friend Suing Porsche for 'Malfunction'
In this 2013 file photo released by the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department shows the wreckage of a Porsche that crashed into a light pole in Valencia, California.

By    |   Tuesday, 13 May 2014 10:21 AM EDT

Kristine Rodas, the wife of Paul Walker's friend who was driving the Porsche that crashed and killed both men last year, has filed a lawsuit against the automaker claiming that design and suspension faults caused the fatal accident.

The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court contends that the vehicle driven by Rodas' husband, Roger Rodas, was traveling at 55 miles per hour. Kristine Rodas' account goes against a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department report that stated the Porsche had reached speeds of more than 90 miles per hour when it crashed in a Santa Clarita business park in November, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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According to the lawsuit, the $500,000 Porsche Carrera GT "malfunctioned" under Rodas' guidance when the right rear tire suddenly steered to the left and, despite the driver's efforts, continued a clockwise movement before climbing the curb, swiping a tree, and then hitting a light pole and a second tree. Kristine Rodas also noted that her husband was a veteran racecar driver.

In the lawsuit, Rodas maintains that the Porsche's suspension system caused the vehicle to lose control and it lacked a proper crash cage and safety features in the gas tank that would have saved her husband and the "Fast & Furious" star.

The sheriff's department investigation states that the car was going more than twice the legal speed limit on Nov. 30, 2013. The report also found that the car's tires were nine years old.

Walker, 40, died from "severe blunt head, neck, and chest trauma," along with a broken arm, jaw, and ribs, the coroner's report said. Rodas, 38, reportedly suffered similar injuries and a fractured skull, as per the coroner's report.

Neither Walker nor Rodas had any drugs or alcohol in their systems at the time of the accident and both were wearing their seatbelts.

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TheWire
Kristine Rodas, the wife of Paul Walker's friend who was driving the Porsche that crashed and killed both men last year, has filed a lawsuit against the automaker claiming that design and suspension faults caused the fatal accident.
paul walker, porsche, crash, death, lawsuit
351
2014-21-13
Tuesday, 13 May 2014 10:21 AM
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