{"id":239127,"date":"2026-04-20T16:59:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:59:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239127\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T16:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T16:59:07","slug":"jury-selection-begins-in-broward-civil-case-against-tesla-over-2-deaths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/239127\/","title":{"rendered":"Jury selection begins in Broward civil case against Tesla over 2 deaths"},"content":{"rendered":"

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Jury selection in a new Broward County civil case against Tesla started on Monday. <\/p>\n

The case goes back to a crash and a fire that killed 18-year-olds Edgar Monserratt Martinez and Barrett Riley on May 8, 2018, in Fort Lauderdale. <\/p>\n

Monserratt Martinez was a front-seat passenger in the 2014 Tesla Model S that Riley was driving at 116 mph in a 30 mph zone, records show.<\/p>\n

Riley crashed the Tesla Model S into a wall along Seabreeze Boulevard. <\/p>\n

In 2022, Riley\u2019s parents, James and Jenny Riley, claimed Tesla designed the defective lithium-ion batteries<\/a> that were to blame for the fire that followed. <\/p>\n

The lawsuit was dismissed. <\/p>\n

Riley\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Attorneys representing Tesla denied both accusations and focused on Riley\u2019s driving record during the 2022 civil trial. A jury ruled Riley was most responsible, so Tesla was only liable for $105,000. <\/p>\n

In the more recent civil lawsuit, Monserratt Martinez\u2019s family claimed negligence by both Riley and Tesla were to blame for the tragedy. <\/p>\n

Monserratt Martinez and Riley were only about 18 days away from earning their high school diploma from Pine Crest School when they died. <\/p>\n

The civil trial is set to continue with opening statements on Tuesday morning in Fort Lauderdale. <\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Jury selection in a new Broward County civil case against Tesla started on Monday.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-239127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}