Luxury car company, Porsche seems to have found victory in a lawsuit filed against it, as ruled by a federal judge. On November 30th, 2013, Hollywood actor Paul Walker and his friend, Roger Rodas were killed in a car accident after their speeding vehicle rammed into a pole, killing them seconds after impact. Rodas had been driving the car at the time. His widow, Kristine Rodas lost the suit, as US District Judge Philip Gutierrez stated that there was “no competent evidence” to suggest that Porsche should be held responsible for the death of the star and his friend.
However, this ruling is separate from the one filed by Walker’s daughter, Meadow Rain Walker, who was 15 years old at the time of her father’s untimely death. Meadow’s lawyer, Jeff Milam says that her lawsuit is different from the one filed by Ms. Rodas as her husband was killed instantly after the crash, while Paul was still alive at least for a minute after. Milam said: “He survived the crash but was trapped and burned to death because of the vehicle’s defects”. The lawsuit claims that a defect with the seatbelt kept the actor stuck in the burning car, where he could not escape and succumbed under the circumstances.
The similarity between both the lawsuits was that Porsche installed an engine that could go up to 205mph while ignoring safety regulations. Authorities who investigated the crash site and the Porsche Carrera GT in which the actor and his friend perished, had concluded that speed was to blame for the accident and deaths.
In related news, Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Walker’s co-star in the Fast & Furious franchise, spoke about the tough year she had after the actor’s tragic death, stating that she used psychedelic drugs, including ayahuasca, to cope with her loss, and said that she was “jealous” because her friend went before her. Read more about it here.
