Porsche releases statement on Paul Walker wrongful death lawsuit

After Paul Walker’s daughter filed a wrongful death lawsuit Monday against Porsche, the carmaker has responded.

“As we have said before, we are very sad whenever anyone is hurt in a Porsche vehicle, but we believe the authorities’ reports in this case clearly establish that this tragic crash resulted from reckless driving and excessive speed,” a representative for Porsche said in a statement provided to EW.

Walker died two years ago in the passenger seat of his 2005 Porsche Carrera GT when his friend Roger Rodas, who was driving, lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. Both men died in the crash.

The lawsuit, filed by Walker’s daughter, Meadow, accuses Porsche of strict liability and negligence, stating that Walker’s car lacked safety features “that could have prevented the accident or, at a minimum, allowed Paul Walker to survive the crash.” The lawsuit also disputes how fast the car was traveling at the time of the crash, as law enforcement officials have said that Rodas was driving at about 90 mph, while the lawsuit states the maximum speed was only 71 mph.

“It is with great reluctance that Meadow Walker has authorized the filing of this lawsuit on her own behalf and as heir to Paul Walker’s estate,” Meadow Walker’s lawyer Jeff Milam said in a statement Monday. “She’s a teenage girl still dealing with the tragic loss of her father.”

Rodas’ widow, Kristine Rodas, also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Porsche in 2014, claiming negligence and a lack of safety figures. The carmaker released a statement in response earlier this year, saying, “Roger Rodas’s death, and all other injuries or damages claimed, were the result of Roger Rodas’s own comparative fault.”