Tesla’s Futuristic Door Handles Blamed for Death in Fiery Wreck
- Police couldn’t free man from smoke-filled car, lawsuit says
- Model S handles are supposed to pop out when fob is detected
A Model S on display at a Tesla store.
Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
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The futuristic door handles on Tesla Inc.’s Model S are being blamed for a fatal crash in which a police officer was unable to pull a man to safety from his burning car.
Omar Awan, a 48-year-old anesthesiologist, was driving his leased Tesla in February when he lost control on a south Florida parkway and the car slammed into a palm tree, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in state court in Broward County.