Tesla Settles Wrongful Death Suit in 2018 Florida Crash

Tesla has reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of a teenager killed in a high-speed crash involving one of its vehicles in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, court records show. The agreement, with terms not disclosed, was confirmed on Monday as jury selection was underway in Broward County court, removing the electric vehicle maker as a defendant and leaving only the estate of the teenage driver in the case.

The lawsuit stemmed from a May 2018 accident on Seabreeze Boulevard, where 18-year-old Barrett Riley was driving a 2014 Tesla Model S at approximately 116 mph in a 25 mph zone. According to court documents, Riley lost control on a curve, struck two concrete walls and caught fire, killing both him and his passenger, 18-year-old Edgar Monserratt Martinez. A third passenger was ejected and survived with injuries.

The plaintiffs, Martinez's parents, alleged that Tesla bore responsibility because a company technician had disabled a speed-limiting feature on the vehicle without their knowledge or the Rileys' consent. The limiter, installed by Riley's father months earlier after his son received a speeding ticket for driving 112 mph, had capped the car's...