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Porsche has claimed that Paul Walker’s death in a car crash was caused by his “own comparative fault”.
Paul Walker, 40, was killed when the 2005 Carrera GT he was travelling in crashed in Santa Clarita, California in November 2013. The driver Roger Rodas was also killed.
His daughter Meadow Rain Walker has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the luxury car manufacturer, accusing them of negligence.
The 16-year-old’s lawyers allege that Walker was killed after flaws in the car’s design left him trapped in the vehicle while it was on fire.
Porsche has now officially responded to the filing in a seven-page document where it states that Walker was aware of all of the “risk, perils and danger” involved in driving a Carrera GT.
The filing reads: “Plaintiff is barred from recovery because Mr Walker was a knowledgeable and sophisticated user of the 2005 Carrera GT.”
The company also dismisses claims of design faults and states instead that Rodas’ car had been “abused and altered” and this “caused or contributed to the incident and to Mr Walker’s death”.
It adds that the Carrera GT had been “misused and improperly maintained” which may have also contributed to the crash.
“Mr Walker’s death, and all other injuries or damages claimed, were the result of Mr Walker’s own comparative fault,” it says.
Investigators found that speed was the main cause of the crash with Rodas driving between 80 to 93 miles an hour (130-150kmph) at the time.
Coroners also ruled out drugs or alcohol as contributing factors.
Paul Walker was on a break from filming the seventh instalment of the Fast & Furious film franchise at the time.
He had completed most of his scenes before his death, but Universal Pictures was forced to put production on hold to figure out how to continue filming without him.
Agencies/Canadajournal
