That would be one of the things to establish in court: could they have survived? Despite occasional outrage headlines, the battery pack is hard to damage. It usually takes a very severe crash.

Aside from the horrible fate, it’s not much different from any other car. When running into a tree, airbags protect you to a point. But there is no technology that can protect you from a severe enough crash. Was it severe enough? Could their fate have been different? Those are the most important questions