Family of Dead Teen Sues Tesla for Negligence, Bad Battery

Tesla is in the news again for all the wrong reasons – the family of a teen who died in an accident is suing the electric automaker over a defective battery and alleged negligence.

Back in May, Barrett Riley was speeding across the Seabreeze Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale at a brisk 116 mph when his 2014 Tesla S hit a wall, before hitting a lightpole and bursting into flames, killing Riley and a passenger, Edgar Monserratt Martinez (whose family filed the lawsuit).

Now, you might be saying that no car could survive a collision at 116 mph – which is exactly what Tesla said – and you’d be right, but this isn’t a simple case of teens acting stupid. Riley did act stupid previously, getting a speeding ticket for going 112 mph, which led his parents to install a "speed limiter/governor," capping the Tesla’s top speed at 85 mph.

But a Tesla service center removed the limiter without the family’s permission, and the Monserratts also allege that the vehicle’s battery wasn’t "adequately protected and shielded." Tesla has a long and sordid history of its batteries catching fire, and this time, it led to tragedy – though again, most cars would catch fire after a 116 mph collision.

"Unfortunately, no car could have withstood a high-speed crash of this kind. Tesla's Speed Limit Mode, which allows Tesla owners to limit their car's speed and acceleration, was introduced as an over-the-air update last year in dedication to our customer's son, Barrett Riley, who tragically passed away in the accident," Tesla said in a statement.

Read more about this lawsuit here: https://www.corboydemetrio.com/newsroom-news-lawsuit-against-tesla-defective-battery-death