A Texas couple is suing after their 5-year-old daughter was killed in car crash. The couple claims that the driver who rammed into their car was distracted by Apple FaceTime app.
Parents James and Bethany Modisette are suing Apple for damages on the basis that Apple failed to implement a safe design for FaceTime that can prevent driver from using the app while travelling, court document show.
The lawsuit also claims that the electronic giant failed "to warn users that the product was likely to be dangerous when used or misused" or to instruct on its safe usage. The accident occurred on December 25th in 2014 near Dallas.
According to the lawsuit, the Modisette family was driving in a Toyota Camry, with daughter Moriah, 5, in a booster seat in the left rear passenger seat and her sister, Isabella, next to her in the right rear seat. Another driver, Garrett Wilhelm, traveling in his Toyota 4Runner allegedly had his attention towards the FaceTime app on his phone, the suit says.
"As a result of that distraction, his Toyota 4Runner, while travelling at full highway speed (65 mph), struck the Modisette family car from behind, causing it to be propelled forward, rotate, and come to a final rest at an angle facing the wrong direction in the right lane of traffic," the suit says.
The crash caused extensive damage to the driver's side of the Modisettes' car, and rescue workers had to extract both the father and 5-year-old Moriah from the car, the suit says.
According to the suit, the father was in critical condition, while the mother and Isabella were rushed to the regional medical centre. Moriah was airlifted to the nearest children’s hospital where she was later declared dead.
"Wilhelm told police at the scene that he was using FaceTime on his iPhone at the time of the crash, and the police located his iPhone at the crash scene with the FaceTime application still active," the suit claims.
The Modisettes contend in their suit that, "At the time of the collision in question, the iPhone utilized by Wilhelm contained the necessary hardware (to be configured with software) to automatically disable or 'lock-out' the ability to use [FaceTime] ... However, Apple failed to configure the iPhone to automatically ‘lock-out’ the ability to utilize ‘FaceTime’ while driving at highway speeds, despite having the technical capability to do so.”
Wilhelm was indicted on manslaughter charges by a grand jury in Denton County, Texas,. He has been out of jail on bail since August, and a jury trial in the case is scheduled for Feb. 27, the Record-Chronicle reports.
Wilhelm’s lawyer, Ricky Perritt, issued the follow statement: "The Wilhelm family offers their thoughts and prayers for the family of the young lady who lost her life in this tragic accident. We are confident that after all the facts are brought out in Court, it will be shown that the use of a cellular device did not contribute and Mr. Wilhelm did not commit a crime ... it was simply an accident."
