A newly filed federal lawsuit alleges that defects in a Tesla Model 3 caused a catastrophic crash and fire in Tacoma that killed a woman and critically injured her husband, according to court documents filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.
Jeffery Dennis and the estate of his late wife, Wendy Dennis, filed the complaint against Tesla on Nov. 21, claiming the 2018 Model 3 they owned suddenly accelerated without warning while they were driving west on South 56th Street on January 7, 2023.
The lawsuit states the car surged forward at full power for several seconds, forcing Jeff Dennis to swerve around other vehicles before the Tesla crashed into a utility pole at South 56th and South Washington Streets…