According to a lawsuit, a father-of-five who died after an accident in his Tesla Model S could have been spared if it hadn’t been for an electric fault on his doors that prevented authorities from reaching him.

Dr. Omar Awan died in February 2019 when authorities were unable to free him from his vehicle after it crashed in Broward County, Florida.

His wife Liliana has filed a new complaint alleging that Tesla is to blame for a “defective” design on the Model S, which reportedly prevented police and first responders from saving her husband.

Despite Tesla’s rebuttal of the claims, a police report filed by a Davie Police Department officer who examined the collision also refers to a door handle failure.

The officer told NBC 6 that although the Model S’s streamlined doors are supposed to automatically come out “in the event of a crash and do reliably in minor to moderate crashes, they did not in this crash.”

“The handles … are electronic and would not operate if power is abruptly cut in the vehicle,” the report added.

“Nor were officers able to break a window because of the flames,” the report said.

“There is a mechanical back-up in place that can only be accessed from the inside of the vehicle, which it’s why the company gives training to first responders to break the window and open the vehicle from the inside.”

A medical examiner later ruled that the 48-year-old died of smoke inhalation and burns, rather than the crash which led to him being trapped inside his Tesla.

“He could have been saved.

“He could have been here.

“He could have been with us, with his children,” his wife said in an interview this week.

She added: “I want people, I want to shake them and say, ‘Listen, these futuristic cars have benefits but they also have high, high risks and yes, death is one of them’.”

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