A University of Colorado student is among three people killed in a fiery Tesla Cybertruck crash that’s now the focus of two new wrongful death lawsuits.

The crash happened last Thanksgiving in Piedmont, California. Four friends were riding in a Tesla Cybertruck when it collided and burst into flames.

One survivor was rescued by a good Samaritan who used a big tree branch to break through the windows, but 20-year-old Jack Nelson, along with two others, was trapped inside.

Families involved in these lawsuits say some of the high-tech features became a barrier to survival.

“There was a motorist that was traveling behind the vehicle that was involved in the collision,” said Chief Jeremy Bowers with Piedmont Police Department. “When they turned the corner they saw the vehicle in flames and then the person exited the vehicle and helped extricate one of the involved parties out of the vehicle.”

Three students were trapped inside, including CU student Jack Nelson, who was in the back seat.

His family says he didn’t die in the crash; he died in the fire that followed, which he couldn’t escape.

“There was alcohol involved, there was speed and and so there are people who are responsible for the crash and you know these kids were all friends,” Matt Davis, Nelson’s family attorney, said. “The family isn’t out to punish any of them. They’re all grieving too. That’s part of the lawsuit, but the real part of the lawsuit is after the crash happened, they couldn’t get out.”

In lawsuits filed this week, attorneys point to the Cybertruck’s sleek but sealed design: No mechanical door handles outside, a manual release inside, hidden under a liner at the bottom door.

“When you design a product, especially a safety-critical product, which is the door handle of a car when you need to get out in an emergency,” said Davis. “It’s a fundamental concept that you have to design it to be safe and you have to anticipate what can go wrong in an emergency and you have to make it as easy as possible for the users of the product to survive.”

The lawsuits also claim Tesla knew this was a risk, citing other documented cases of trapped occupants and complaints filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Federal investigators have even opened an investigation into complaints of stuck electronic doors.

“We think that the doors of these vehicles failed that test and it’s hard to believe that they reached the market without going through that validation process,” Davis said. “One of the hopes of the family is that this just doesn’t happen to other people.”

Jack was a sophomore at CU Boulder, home for the holidays. His family says he was on the verge of making full contributions to this world, but was taken too soon because of what they call “Tesla’s unsafe design.”

“It would be good if Tesla either recalled or retrofitted these products and warned people about the dangers of these doors stop functioning in crashes or other emergencies,” said Davis.