A Tesla Model 3 crashed in Tacoma, killing a woman. Is a defective car to blame?

A Tesla Model 3 crashed in Tacoma, killing a woman. Is a defective car to blame?

Shea Johnson

Mon, December 1, 2025 at 1:00 PM UTC

4 min read

A Tesla Model 3’s purported defects were allegedly responsible for a fatal wreck in Tacoma after the car unexpectedly sped up, crashed into a pole and burst into flames, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed in federal court.

Jeffery Dennis and his wife, Wendy Dennis, were driver and passenger in the midsize electric sedan on Jan. 7, 2023. The couple was traveling west on South 56th Street when the vehicle “suddenly and rapidly accelerated out of control” as they approached South Washington Street, the lawsuit said.

The 2018 Tesla continued to increase in speed for at least five seconds, the car’s automatic emergency braking system did not engage, and Jeffery Dennis swerved to avoid hitting other vehicles, according to the complaint. The Tesla crashed into a utility pole about 1 p.m. on the northwest corner of the intersection of South 56th and South Washington streets and caught fire, The News Tribune previously reported.

Tacoma police investigate the scene where a driver crashed into a traffic-signal pole, causing life-threatening injuries to the driver and killing a woman in the passenger seat at the intersection of South 56th Street and Washington Street in Tacoma on Jan. 7, 2023.

Wendy Dennis, 52, died from multiple blunt-force injuries, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office. Jeffery Dennis was severely injured in the crash. Witnesses estimated the vehicle was traveling 50 to 60 mph before the wreck, according to The News Tribune’s prior reporting.

“Not only did defects in the Tesla vehicle cause the tragic crash, but other defects in the Tesla caused an explosive fire and prevented rescuers from removing Jeff and Wendy in time to prevent some of their horrendous harm,” the suit said.

Tesla didn’t respond to an inquiry left by The News Tribune on Nov. 24. A message left for two attorneys representing the plaintiffs in the case was unreturned.

The lawsuit was filed Nov. 21 by Jeffery Dennis and a representative of his late wife’s estate in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington. It alleges that the electric-car giant was aware of the Model 3’s issues and negligent in producing the car, which was “not reasonably safe as designed and lacked adequate warnings or instructions.”

Sudden and uncommanded acceleration has been a problem in every Tesla model line, according to the complaint. Tesla also allegedly designed the Model 3’s automatic emergency braking system to fail by deactivating in situations when a driver is acting to avoid a potential collision, including when pressing the accelerator pedal, the suit said.

The complaint alleged that the Model 3’s battery pack was highly explosive and inadequately protected, significantly increasing the risk of a fire, and its door-handle design impeded rescue efforts because, to operate, the outer handles require battery power, which is designed to shut off in a crash.

“Potential rescuers expect to be able to open the car’s doors with the handles,” the suit said. “Unless they have been specifically trained about Tesla’s electric door latch design, they wouldn’t know that the only way to get into the car is to break a window.”

An image embedded in a federal lawsuit captures the aftermath of a Jan. 7, 2023, crash in Tacoma involving a Tesla Model 3.

Following the crash, good Samaritans sought to assist the couple as their vehicle burned, attempting to break the car’s windows with a baseball bat because the doors wouldn’t open, according to the suit. The growing fire forced would-be rescuers to distance themselves from the vehicle, the suit said, adding that emergency crews arrived on scene several minutes later and extricated the victims from the car.

Describing the Tesla Model 3 as a “computer on wheels,” the complaint noted that automated driving systems are only as good as the hardware, engineering and programming used in their execution, and that computers and software in general were susceptible to bugs.

“These bugs are serious enough when located in a stationary box on a user’s desk,” the filing said. “They are magnified exponentially when a computer controls a more than two-ton moving machine capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds.”

The suit is seeking unspecified economic and non-economic damages to be proven at trial for Jeffery Dennis’ medical expenses and lost wages, the wrongful death of his wife and other claims. Renee Canavan, a representative of Wendy Dennis’ estate, is also a named plaintiff, although the filing doesn’t indicate Canavan’s relationship to the victim. The complaint similarly requests unspecified damages on behalf of the estate, including for funeral and burial expenses.

About Our Ads

Source