14 DAY TRIAL // It's been months since the November fatal crash that killed actor Paul Walker and his business partner Roger Rodas, during which time the families have had time to grieve. But now that they have come to terms with the tragedy, at least one person is determined to find the guilty party.
TMZ is reporting that the wife of Roger Rodas, Paul's partner and also the man behind the wheel at the time of the crash, Kristina Rodas, is now suing Porsche for faulty mechanics on the car that killed her husband.
The lawsuit was filed yesterday, May 12, and in it, Kristine claims that the Porsche Carerra GT that Roger was driving crashed because it had a faulty suspension that caused the vehicle to careen out of control at high speeds. Her allegations say that Roger tried to hold the car on the road, but failed and hit a light pole on the side of the road.
She's also addressing the issue of the car bursting into fire right after the crash, blaming the German car maker for failing to equip the car with a “crash cage” and a “racing fuel cell.” For those of you with some mechanical knowledge, a fuel cell is common among race cars and prevents the fuel from igniting if the vehicle is involved in a crash.
Her main argument in this battle is that Porsche themselves are calling the Carerra GT “as close to a racecar as we will ever get.” She also points out the fact that the car has been involved in numerous fatal crashes but never took the steps to warn customers.
However, this is where her arguments fail to concur with reality. The problem with her lawsuit is that she doesn't acknowledge the fact that Roger was speeding when he crashed, when this was proven to be the sole case of the crash by a police investigation.
She also fails to acknowledge the fact that the Porsche did come with very specific warnings which were obtained by the press after the crash and serve as proof that the car was deemed unsafe for normal drivers.
The people who sold the car warned that it should only be driven on the track and only under certain conditions, since it wasn't a normal road car. They also warned that since it was so tuned for racing, it was a hassle to control and it was prone to expensive accidents. Handlers and potential customers were warned to treat the car with extra care whenever handling it.
The lawyer that was hired to take on the German car maker is famous Hollywood heavyweight Mark Gerangos, who is now going against Porsche for negligence, wrongful death and product liability.