A tragic incident involving a Tesla Model S in Wisconsin resulted in the deaths of a couple last year after the car collided with a tree and erupted into flames. The family of the deceased is now pursuing legal action against Tesla, claiming that a failure in the car’s “low-voltage electrical power” left the rear door buttons inoperative, trapping the occupants inside.

The legal team representing Jeffrey and Michelle Bauer’s family contends in a recently filed lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court that the couple’s deaths were not the result of the collision itself. Instead, they argue, “Tesla’s perilous design decisions caused a rapid fire outbreak and deprived the occupants of a viable escape route.”

In the tragic November 2024 accident, the Bauers were among five individuals who perished when the 2016 Tesla Model S they were traveling in veered off Range Trail in Verona and struck a tree.

A nearby resident, startled by the crash, quickly dialed 911 and relayed the harrowing scene: “The car is on fire now,” she reported, as noted in the family’s complaint. She could hear screams coming from the vehicle and observed “large flames” accompanied by “loud explosions.” Even five minutes into her call, the screams persisted.

An off-duty police officer also witnessed the burning wreckage and contacted 911, the complaint details. The officer reported the car ablaze and noted the cries from inside. Tragically, all five passengers were unable to escape before the Model S was engulfed by the inferno.

The Bauer family’s legal team claims Tesla’s “design choices” created a highly foreseeable risk: that occupants who survived a crash would “remain trapped inside a burning vehicle,” according to the complaint. They allege that Tesla included mechanical backups accessible from inside the vehicle, but they were “hidden, unlabeled, and impractical in an emergency,” the complaint says.

“Rear passengers were left with only a concealed mechanical release that was obscured, non-intuitive, and highly unlikely to be located or operated in the smoke and chaos of a post-crash fire,” the document alleges.

Lead attorney Andrew McDevitt told NBC and CW affiliate WMTV that Jeffrey Bauer and Michelle Bauer’s deaths were “unnecessary” and could have been prevented had Tesla not “introduced a hazard and a problem that did not previously exist in vehicles.”

He added, “When you see something novel or different, unfortunately, you have to make sure that at this point in time, they’ve thought about the safety ramifications and just be mindful that there can be these hidden dangers lurking out there.”

The couple’s family sent WMTV a statement this week saying, “Jeffrey and Michelle were devoted parents and cherished members of our community. This crash stole them from us in the most horrific way imaginable, inflicting an irreparable loss on our family. We filed this lawsuit to seek justice for their deaths and force Tesla to finally fix what they’ve known was deadly for years.”

Tesla has not responded to WMTV or Law&Crime’s requests for comment.