‘Unreasonably dangerous’: Suit says Tesla doors trapped student in burning car

Tesla Inc. is facing another wrongful death lawsuit tied to its vehicles’ door handles. College student Samuel David Tremblett was trapped in his burning car after a crash and neither he nor first responders could open the doors of his 2021 Model Y, according to the suit filed by his mother. It alleges the “unreasonably dangerous design” of the electric doors caused his death. The Austin automaker did not respond to a request for comment. RELATED: Tesla under investigation for door handle issue that can trap children inside According to the suit, Tremblett died after his Model Y hit a tree and burst into flames. He called 911, telling the dispatcher he was “stuck in a car crash” and couldn’t get out. Officers who responded could not get the doors open to remove Tremblett from the vehicle due to the fire, which took about four hours to put out. He died of thermal injuries and smoke inhalation. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, is the latest in a series of complaints against Tesla over its door handle design. When EVs such as Teslas are charged and undamaged, passengers can operate the sleek electronic door handles. But first responders and other witnesses to crashes have found that passengers are unable to operate the door handles and become trapped. In some cases, they can't be operated from outside, either. Tesla’s website notes that “in the unlikely situation when Model Y has no power” passengers can pull up the manual door release located in front of the window switches. Still, difficulty exiting vehicles after a crash has been tied to at least 15 death. Those include the death of Texas man Michael Sheehan, whose family filed a lawsuit after his Cybertruck caught fire in a 2024 crash in Baytown. In the Massachusetts lawsuit, Samuels’ mother Jacquelyn Tremblett alleges Tesla’s design is “unreasonably dangerous and not crashworthy.” The lawsuit claims it breached its warranty and duties to identify hazards and design a vehicle that is safe and without defects. Tremblett is seeking punitive damages not less than $5,000 and a jury trial. In December, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a defect investigation into Tesla Model 3 over concerns that the vehicles’ mechanical door release is unlabeled and not intuitive to locate during an emergency. The agency has also probed 2021 Tesla Model Y vehicles after reports of exterior door handles becoming inoperative due to low battery voltage, leading to instances of children stuck inside vehicles. Aside from NHTSA’s investigations, Tesla’s door handles have been considered for regulation lately. U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Illinois) introduced a bill last month that would require easily seen manual releases for each door in a vehicle. On Monday, China announced it would ban hidden door handles on cars to address EV crashes that turned fatal when passengers could not operate the electronic handles to exit the vehicle.