Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

News

Paul Walker's Daughter Awarded $10M In Settlement For Crash That Killed Her Father

Paul Walker (Getty)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.


The daughter of Paul Walker received $10.1 million in a settlement with the estate of Roger Rodas, the man who was driving when the car crashed in 2013, killing himself and Walker.The L.A. Times reports that the settlement was actually reached in 2014, but the information had yet to surface until now, possibly because the name on the court documents was just listed as "Meadow W." Of that $10 million granted by the Rodas estate, around $7 million of it was placed in a trust for Meadow. Records show that nearly $3 million was set aside for Meadow's legal fees.

A report in 2014 found that the cause of the crash was speed. Meadow's attorney Jeff Milam told TMZ that Rodas was partly to blame for the fatal accident, even though he was "not directing the car through any particularly unsafe maneuvers when it went out of control."

Last year, Meadow sued Porsche, claiming that the car had major design flaws, and was a reason for the crash.

Milam told the Times Friday that news of the settlement shouldn't effect the pending lawsuit against Porsche. The lawsuit alleges that the car was traveling 63 to 71 mph when it lost control, while previous investigators reports said that it was traveling at least 90 mph. "Our lawsuit on behalf of Meadow against Porsche AG— a $13-billion corporation—intends to hold the company responsible for producing a vehicle that was defective and caused Paul Walker's death."

Milam added that Rodas was killed instantly upon impact, while Walker "was a passenger in the car. He survived the crash but was trapped and burned to death because of the vehicle's defects."

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today