The 14-year-old boy’s mother is suing Tesla for “the mental, emotional, and physical pain and suffering” experienced by her late son

NEED TO KNOW

• A mom is suing Tesla Inc. after her teenage son and his dad were killed in a fiery crash involving a Model 3 in Georgia
• Her wrongful death civil suit claims the car veered off the road, struck a tree and burst into flames — with the victims allegedly trapped inside due to malfunctioning doors
• The mom alleges design flaws in Tesla’s Autopilot system and battery pack played a role in the tragic incident and is seeking damages for her son’s suffering and death

A grieving mother has filed a wrongful death civil suit against Tesla after her teenage son and his father were allegedly burned to death after becoming trapped in a Tesla vehicle. 

Shantorria Herring filed her complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on March 31. 

In the complaint, which was obtained by PEOPLE, Herring alleges that her son, 14-year-old Karter Breon Smith, was riding with his father, Margarret Smith, in a 2021 Tesla Model 3 on a Georgia highway on Dec. 23, 2024.

“The vehicle abruptly departed the road, struck a tree and burst into flames,” according to the complaint.

The complaint further states that an occupant from another vehicle rushed to help, but that person was unable to open the vehicle’s doors because the electric-powered handles were “inoperable.”

“Consequently, both occupants burned to death in the thermal runaway and fire that occurred after impact,” the complaint states.

The complaint also alleges that the vehicle abruptly accelerated before the crash and failed to brake when confronted with an object in front of the car.

The complaint argues that the car’s “Autopilot” and/or “self-driving” features were improperly designed and defective, and it claims these malfunctions ultimately caused the car to crash.

The complaint also claims that the vehicle’s battery pack was not “crashworthy” and “was prone to cause a post-collision thermal runaway” — which is a dangerous chain reaction in which a battery overheats uncontrollably and keeps getting hotter, often leading to fire or explosion.

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“As a result of [the] Defendant’s acts and omissions, [the] Plaintiff’s son was horribly injured, experienced mental, emotional, and physical pain and suffering, and died,” the complaint stated.

Herring is suing for an unspecified amount, but is seeking damages for “the pre-impact shock and fright, as well as the mental, emotional, and physical pain and suffering experienced by her [son] prior to his death,” along with attorney’s fees and funeral expenses.

Tesla did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’S request for comment.

In a statement to The Independent, Herring’s attorney, Quinton Seay, said that his client remains devastated by the tragedy.

“It has been a struggle for her to even talk about it enough for us to be able to file this lawsuit on her behalf. It’s a very tragic situation, and very painful,” he said.

He additionally said that the various features and malfunctions mentioned in the wrongful death suit “all make for a very uncrashworthy vehicle.”

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