Florida Jury: Tesla Is 1% to Blame for Teen Deaths in EV Crash
A Florida jury found Tesla 1% negligent in a 2018 crash that killed two teens in Fort Lauderdale, which means the automaker will be responsible for $105,000 of the $10.5 million in damages recommended by the jury.
In the first known case involving a Tesla crash to go to trial, plaintiff James Riley alleged that Tesla was responsible for the death of his son, 18-year-old Barrett, and Barrett's friend, the Associated Press reports(Opens in a new window).
According to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation(Opens in a new window), the teenager was driving 116mph in a 30mph zone, and likely lost control of the vehicle while passing another car on a curved roadway. The 2014 Tesla Model S EV carrying Barrett and two 18-year-old passengers struck two walls on either side of a residential driveway before catching fire, hitting a metal pole, and coming to a stop.
The driver and front passenger died, while a rear passenger was ejected during the crash and transported to a local hospital with serious injuries.
Riley claimed Barrett and the second victim, Edgar Monserratt Martinez, initially survived the collision when the airbags deployed, but died after the sedan's lithium-ion batteries combusted, NBC News says(Opens in a new window). He also blamed a Tesla technician, who—reportedly at Barrett's request but without Riley's consent—removed a speed limiter Riley had installed in the car to prevent his son from driving more than 85mph.
Tesla argued that the speed tool could not have prevented the crash, and that Riley failed to establish that the battery was defective. The jury seemed to agree, placing a majority of the blame on Barrett, who—according to NBC News—had a history of speeding and received a ticket
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