Lawsuit blames Tesla design flaws for crash that killed Washington state
woman, injured her husband
[November 25, 2025] By
MARK THIESSEN
Design flaws caused a Tesla Model 3 to suddenly accelerate out of
control before it crashed into a utility pole and burst into flames,
killing a woman and severely injuring her husband, a lawsuit filed in
federal court alleges.
Another defect with the door handle design thwarted bystanders who were
trying to rescue the driver, Jeff Dennis, and his wife, Wendy, from the
car, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court for
the Western District of Washington.
Wendy Dennis died in the Jan. 7, 2023, crash in Tacoma, Washington. Jeff
Dennis suffered severe leg burns and other injuries, according to the
lawsuit.
Messages left Monday with plaintiffs’ attorneys and Tesla were not
immediately returned.
The lawsuit seeks punitive damages in California since the Dennis’ 2018
Model 3 was designed and manufactured there. Tesla also had its
headquarters in California at the time before later moving to Texas.
Among other financial claims, the lawsuit seeks wrongful death damages
for both Jeff Dennis and his late wife’s estate. It asks for a jury
trial.
Tesla doors have been at the center of several crash cases because the
battery powering the unlocking mechanism shuts off in case of a crash,
and the manual releases that override that system are known for being
difficult to find.
Last month, the parents of two California college students killed in a
Tesla crash sued the carmaker, saying the students were trapped in the
vehicle as it burst into flames because of a design flaw that prevented
them from opening the doors. In September, federal regulators opened an
investigation into complaints by Tesla drivers of problems with stuck
doors.
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Several 2018 Model 3 sedans sit on display outside a Tesla showroom,
July 8, 2018, in Littleton, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
 Jeff and Wendy Dennis were running
errands when the Tesla suddenly accelerated for at least five
seconds. Jeff Dennis swerved to miss other vehicles before the car
hit the utility pole and burst into flames, the lawsuit says.
The automatic emergency braking system did not engage before hitting
the pole, the lawsuit alleges, even though it is designed to apply
the brakes when a frontal collision is considered unavoidable.
Bystanders couldn’t open the doors because the handles do not work
from the outside because they also rely on battery power to
operate.. The doors also couldn’t be opened from inside because the
battery had shut off because of the fire, and a manual override
button is hard to find and use, the lawsuit alleges.
The heat from the fire prevented bystanders from getting close
enough to try to break out the windows.
Defective battery chemistry and battery pack design unnecessarily
increased the risk of a catastrophic fire after the impact with the
pole, the lawsuit alleges.
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Thiessen reported from Anchorage, Alaska.
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