\n
![](\"https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2025\/09\/tesla-1280x853.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
Tesla is facing another lawsuit alleging a passenger was trapped inside one of its vehicles after a crash.<\/p>\n
The mother of a 20-year-old man who died last October filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Tesla in federal court in Massachusetts on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit alleges that Samuel Tremblett was unable to escape from a 2021 Model Y after crashing into a tree in Easton, Massachusetts, around 1 a.m. on October 29.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnable to open the doors, Mr. Tremblett was trapped in the Tesla vehicle and died from thermal injuries and smoke inhalation before he was able to be rescued,\u201d the lawsuit reads.<\/p>\n
The filing even includes a transcript of part of the 911 call Tremblett made after the crash. According to the suit, Tremblet told a dispatcher:<\/p>\n
\nI\u2019m stuck in a car crash\u2026 I can\u2019t get out, please help me\u2026 I can\u2019t breathe\u2026. It\u2019s on fire, it\u2019s on fire. Help please\u2026 I am going to die\u2026 I\u2019m dying. Help. [\u2026 I\u2019m dying\u2026 Help\u2026 Help.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Officers responding to the incident said that the fires were too severe to save Tremblett\u2019s life, and there were four separate explosions within the first ten minutes upon their arrival at the scene of the accident.<\/p>\n
Neither Tesla nor the plaintiff\u2019s attorneys immediately responded to Gizmodo\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n
This lawsuit is the latest to highlight what appears to be a faulty design in Tesla\u2019s electric door handles.<\/p>\n
According to the lawsuit, during an electrical system failure, the vehicles\u2019 electronic door handles can malfunction. And while Teslas do include manual door releases, the lawsuit alleges, \u201cthe inconspicuous location and markings are not readily discernible, particularly to an occupant who needs to exit the vehicle quickly, escaping a post-crash fire.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawsuit includes images from the Model Y owner\u2019s manual showing that the front door mechanical releases are located near the window switches. But for the rear doors, passengers must first remove a mat from the bottom of the door pocket and then pull a tab to access a release cable. The manual notes that not all Model Ys are equipped with manual releases for rear doors.<\/p>\n
Federal regulators have already been investigating the issue. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NSTSA) opened a preliminary probe in September into Tesla\u2019s electrically powered door handles in 2021 Model Y vehicles, the same model Tremblett was driving. The ongoing review covers nearly 175,000 vehicles and is examining how widespread and serious the problem may be.<\/span><\/p>\n
This isn\u2019t the first lawsuit filed against Tesla over its door design. The parents of two college students who died in a Cybertruck crash filed separate lawsuits in October, alleging the truck\u2019s electric doors with hidden manual releases trapped the victims inside. And a Bloomberg investigation last year found at least 15 deaths in a dozen incidents over the past decade in which occupants or rescuers were unable to open the doors of a crashed Tesla that caught fire.<\/p>\n
And it\u2019s not just the U.S. where this is becoming an issue. Just this week, China announced it is banning hidden door handles on cars starting next year. All vehicles will be required to include a mechanical release function.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n