The sole survivor of a catastrophic Tesla Cybertruck crash that killed three college students is alleging the car amounts to a “death trap,” a new lawsuit says.
Attorneys for Jordan Miller, the only survivor of the deadly 2024 Piedmont crash, said Tesla should be considered at fault for the accident.
“A vehicle shouldn’t become a trap once you’re in an accident,” Anthony Label, Miller’s attorney, told NBC Bay Area. “There should be a way to get out.”
The vehicle allegedly trapped Miller’s companions inside as its electric door system failed and had no exterior handles, making it impossible for those to get out or rescue those inside.
“The rescuer was trying to get the door open, frantically, unable to do that and we believe if the Tesla was designed safely without really compromising much of the style, his friends would’ve been saved and his injuries wouldn’t have been as bad,” Label told NBC Bay Area.
Rescuers needed to break a window to save Miller, but the three other vehicle occupants perished.
The California Highway Patrol said alcohol, speed and drugs were contributing factors to the crash. The deceased passengers — Soren Dixon, 19, Jack Nelson, 20, and Krysta Tsukahara, 19, all had alcohol, cocaine and other substances in their systems when they died.
The driver, Dixon, had a BAC of 0.195% — more than twice the legal limit — when the Tesla truck drove off the road, smashed into a retaining wall and burst into flames, the investigation confirmed.
Miller survived with severe injuries including burns and spinal injuries. He’s still recovering from the 2024 crash and has needed multiple surgeries.
“He is going to be dealing with the effects of this for the rest of his life,” Label told NBC Bay Area. “He had horrific injuries, multiple surgeries, bad burns, skin grafts, and then the mental trauma.”
Label says Tesla ignored known risks about the vehicle, characterizing its blueprint for the vehicle as a “conscious disregard for safety.”
“There are design changes that would be easy to make that are feasible, that can be made, that would protect people,” Label said.
The Post has approached Tesla for comment.
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