Porsche was not to blame for the high-speed crash that killed Fast & Furious star Paul Walker and his friend and driver Roger Rodas, a California court has ruled.
US district judge Philip S Gutierrez said Kristine Rodas had failed to prove her case that the Carrera GT model being driven by her husband at the time of the fatal crash lacked vital safety features. “Plaintiff has provided no competent evidence that Rodas’s death occurred as a result of any wrongdoing on the part of defendant,” he wrote in a judgment at the Los Angeles superior court.
Paul Walker died aged 40, when his Porsche crashed and burst into flames in Valencia, Santa Clarita, on 30 November 2013. Driver Rodas, 38, lost control of the vehicle, which careered into trees and a concrete lamppost, killing both men. Walker had been part way through the filming of Fast & Furious 7, which was delayed and eventually completed using the actor’s brothers, Caleb and Cody, as body doubles.
Kristine Rodas had alleged the car’s crash cage was not strong enough to withstand the impact of the smash, that the vehicle was not built to cope with a side impact, that its fuel cell was compromised (leading to fire) and that the suspension failed. Each claim was denied by the judge, who ruled that Roger Rodas had died after colliding with Walker, that the crash was head-on rather than side-on, that fire had not killed Rodas, and that there was no evidence of a suspension fault.
The ruling against Kristine Rodas has no bearing on two other cases against Porsche which have been filed by Walker’s father Paul William Walker III, who is also the executor of the actor’s estate, and his daughter Meadow Walker. Both are pending cases at the LA superior court.
Porsche said in November that Walker’s death was the actor’s “own comparative fault”, alleging the limited edition Carrera had been “abused and altered” as well as “misused and improperly maintained”.
The Walkers both contend that the vehicle was travelling between 63 and 71mph when Rodas lost control. Porsche has cited a police report stating the vehicle was travelling at around 90mph when the accident happened. However, the Los Angeles Times previously reported that officers consulted engineers from the sports-car manufacturer before making their estimate.