Judge rejects Porsche's responsibility in Paul Walker's death

A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that automaker Porsche was not responsible for the November 2013 car crash that left actor Paul Walker and a friend killed, the media reported.

A district judge thus resolved the lawsuit filed in May 2014 against Porsche by the widow of Walker's friend, who was driving the car in which the two men died while street racing, Efe news agency reported.

Kristine Rodas, the widow of Roger Rodas, said there had been manufacturing and safety defects in the Porsche Carrera GT, but that argument was rejected by the judge as the cause of the crash that led to the men's deaths.

The plaintiff argued that the passenger compartment was not sufficiently strong and that the vehicle was not designed to protect its occupants from a side impact, and there were also defects in the gas tank and the vehicle's suspension.

The judge rejected all those claims saying that there was no evidence to support them.

In her complaint, the plaintiff said that the vehicle in which her husband and the film star were riding was travelling at 88 km (55 miles) per hour at the time of the crash, while the police report on the accident said that it was travelling between 128 kph and 150 kph (79 mph to 93 mph).

The Carrera GT, authorities said, was travelling at more than twice the legal speed limit and burst into flames after hitting a public light pole and a tree.

Walker, who achieved fame for his key role in the "Fast & Furious" action racing films, died on June 30, 2013, at age 40 from "trauma and burns," according to the autopsy report published by the Los Angeles Coroner's Office.

The actor's daughter, Meadow Walker, also filed a lawsuit against Porsche in September 2015 contending that design defects caused the crash. That suit is still pending.