FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Grieving parents attempted to hold Tesla responsible for two deaths during a civil case in 2022, and they will be trying again in court on Monday.

Edgar Monserratt Martinez and Barrett Riley were both 18-year-old seniors preparing to graduate from the Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale when they died.

Riley was driving a 2014 Tesla Model S at 116 mph in a 30 mph zone when he crashed in 2018 into a wall along Seabreeze Boulevard, records showed.

The grieving families claim Riley and Monserratt survived the crash on May 8, 2018, but not the fire that followed when the batteries ignited, records showed.

Riley’s parents, James and Jenny Riley, claimed Tesla had designed defective lithium-ion batteries. The lawsuit was dismissed.

Riley’s parents also claimed Tesla installed a device to prevent travel above 85 mph, and a Tesla technician in Dania Beach removed it without their consent.

Attorneys representing Tesla denied both accusations and focused on Riley’s driving record.

At the conclusion of the civil trial in 2022, a jury ruled Riley was most responsible, so Tesla was only liable for $105,000.

In the more recent civil lawsuit, Monserratt’s loved ones claimed Tesla was negligent. The civil trial is set to begin on Monday in Broward County.

Grieving family takes Tesla to civil trial for negligence in Broward

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Byron Tollefson

Andrea Torres