Paul Walker’s 16-year-old daughter, Meadow Walker, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Porsche following her dad’s Nov. 30, 2013, death in Valencia, Calif. According to the lawsuit, obtained by Us Weekly, Meadow’s lawyers claim that Paul died after being trapped inside the 2005 Carrera GT he was riding in alongside friend Roger Rodas.
"It is with great reluctance that Meadow Walker has authorized the filing of this lawsuit on her own behalf and as heir to Paul Walker's estate," her attorney, Jeff Milam, said in a statement to Us.
According to the documents, Walker’s seat belt "snapped Walker's torso back with thousands of pounds of force, thereby breaking his ribs and pelvis," and trapping him in the passenger seat after the car crashed and broke apart. The lawsuit notes that the fire didn’t erupt for a minute and 20 seconds until after the crash, and that Paul was still alive inside the vehicle. “Paul Walker breathed soot into his trachea while the Porsche Carrera GT burned,” the suit alleges.
The lawsuit also claims that Rodas, who was also killed, was driving between 63 and 71 MPH, not 80 to 93 MPH like the police report noted, when it careened out of control, and that Porsche was aware that the Carrera GTs had a “history of instability and control issues. “The suit argues that Porsche could have prevented the defect had the car been fitted with a Porsche Stability Management System (PSM), which prevents swerving and is standard in many other models.
Meadow’s lawyers also acknowledged other defects with the car, including deficient side door reinforcements and fuel lines that didn’t properly protect the car from fires.
"The bottom line is that the Porsche Carrera GT is a dangerous car,” Milam said in his statement. “It doesn't belong on the street. And we shouldn't be without Paul Walker or his friend, Roger Rodas."
Earlier this year, Porsche claimed that it was Rodas' error and not the car that killed the two men.
