A man whose wife was killed in a crash on the Ventura (101) Freeway in Hollywood two years ago sued Ferrari Inc. today, alleging he was struck from behind by a truck because a defect in his car battery kept him from starting the engine.
Lee Samson, the husband of Anne Samson, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court. The allegations include wrongful death, design defect, failure to warn, breach of express warranty and negligence.
The suit also names Fiamm Energy LLC, which manufactured the car’s battery.
A Ferrari representative could not be immediately reached.
According to the lawsuit, Samson and his wife were in their 2013 Ferrari on the Ventura Freeway on Aug. 15, 2013, when traffic came to a stop. He and other drivers around him shut off their engines, the suit states.
Traffic began moving 10 to 15 minutes later and Samson tried and failed to start his car, the suit states. He then turned on his hazard lights, according to the complaint.
However, a pickup truck hit the Ferrari from behind, the suit states. Anne Samson, 66, was seriously injured and died the next day, the suit states.
Samson suffered lacerations to the back of his head, to his chin and to his right ear, the suit states.
The Ferrari’s battery was “defective, uncrashworthy and unsafe,” the suit alleges. Ferrari and Fiamm Energy knew or should have known about problems with the type of battery in the Samson car and warned consumers like the plaintiff that they could fail, according to the lawsuit.
