A California man who was rear-ended by a distracted driver on her cell phone blames Apple for the crash — and claims the tech giant is allowing “massive carnage” to occur, according to a new class-action lawsuit.
Driver Julio Ceja, who lives in Orange County, claims his accident could have been prevented with lock-out technology, which disables the phone while driving.
But he accuses of Apple of purposely not implementing the patented safety feature, which he claims the company has had since 2008.
“Fearful that such a device would cause it to lose valuable market share, Apple refuses to employ the technology, choosing instead to allow the massive carnage to occur,” says the suit, filed last week in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Ceja became the “victim” of a distracted driver — who he caught checking her iPhone before slamming into him while he was stopped at a red light, the suit says.
“When the driver exited the vehicle after the accident, she still had her iPhone in hand, startled that she had just caused an accident,” the suit says.
Ceja sustained injuries to his back.
The lawsuit seeks to stop sales in California of iPhones without the lock-out technology, as well as force Apple to update the safety system on all current iPhones.
Apple didn’t return messages.
In December, a similar lawsuit was filed against Apple by a Texas couple who lost their 5-year-old daughter in a horrific car crash on Christmas Eve 2014.
Bethany and James Modisette say driver Garrett Wilhelm was using FaceTime on his iPhone 6 when he crashed into the back of the Modisettes’ Toyota Camry at 65 mph, the lawsuit says.
The family was stopped in traffic at the time in Denton because of police activity.
In the back seat of the Modisettes’ car were daughters Isabella, 8, and Moriah — who died at the hospital from her injuries.
“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 says.
The Modisettes say in the suit that although Apple recognizes the “compulsory, addictive and dangerous nature of iPhone usage by drivers, it has nevertheless voluntarily and intentionally failed to implement” the lock-out technology.
Wilhelm has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges and his trial is set to begin next month.
“We are confident that after all the facts are brought out in court, it will be shown that the use of a cellular device was not the cause of the accident and Garrett Wilhelm will not be found guilty of a crime,” Wilhelm’s attorney Ricky Perritt told The Post. “It was simply an accident.”