Almost three years after a Tesla crashed and burst into flames in Downtown Indianapolis, killing two people inside, the passenger's family is suing the car company over a series of alleged defects that they say led to the explosive wreck.

A wrongful death lawsuit filed Tuesday in Alameda Superior Court in California accuses Tesla of negligent and wrongful conduct in connection with the November 2016 crash, according to a news release.

Tesla, which is based in Palo Alto, declined to comment on the lawsuit to IndyStar. It deferred to a previous statement made to IndyStar in January 2017:

“We have been deeply saddened by this accident and have been working closely with authorities to facilitate their report. While it can be difficult to determine the precise speed of a vehicle in such a crash, the observed damage and debris field indicate a very high speed collision.”

Stacey McCarthy, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, is the wife of Kevin McCarthy, who was among the two victims, according to an obituary. McCarthy was the founder and CEO of the Indianapolis company that developed the Case Pacer software, which helps attorneys manage their cases. He is survived by three young children.

The other victim, Casey Speckman, was an attorney and worked for McCarthy as a sales representative. She died months before her wedding.

McCarthy owned the 2015 Model S vehicle, but he was a passenger in the car at the time of the crash. Speckman was driving, authorities said.

The vehicle was heading north on Illinois Street near 16th Street when Speckman lost control and crashed into a tree and parking garage shortly after 1 a.m. on Nov. 3, 2016, authorities said. Speckman, 27, and McCarthy, 44, were killed.

The lawsuit says Speckman lost control as she was trying to avoid a wrong-way driver. Witnesses saw the car come to a rest against the wall of the parking garage before bursting into flames, the complaint said.

McCarthy could be seen trying to escape the engulfed vehicle after the crash, according to the complaint. But car defects prevented him from getting out safely, the lawsuit alleges.

Among the alleged defects are the vehicle's "unstable" lithium ion batteries, which the complaint says have resulted in fires that have ignited spontaneously or when impacted. The luxury electric sports car is powered by a 1,200-pound battery pack made up of several thousand small lithium batteries, IndyStar previously reported.

The complaint says the vehicle sped up to 70 mph from 10 mph seconds before the crash due to an "uncommanded acceleration event."

It also alleges "faulty door handles" trapped McCarthy in the vehicle after the crash, causing him to burn alive and inhale toxic gases.

Speckman, investigators said, died of crash-related injuries with the fire as a contributing factor. The fire killed McCarthy, according to police.

Authorities have said drunken-driving was a factor in the crash. Speckman's blood-alcohol level tested at 0.21 percent, according to IMPD investigators and an accident report. McCarthy had a blood-alcohol level that tested at .017 percent, investigators said. The legal limit in Indiana at which a driver is presumed intoxicated is 0.08 percent.

Earlier that night, Speckman and McCarthy were entertaining clients at the Omni Hotel, according to the lawsuit. After they left, the complaint says, they spoke with a witness who "observed no outward signs of inebriation or intoxication."

One of the attorneys in the case, Richard Hailey, told IndyStar that the victims' alcohol levels will likely come up in the case. But attorneys believe it was not the cause of the crash.

"The (defects) in the complaint would cause this accident with anybody in the car," he said. "These rapid accelerations, the inability to get out of the car, the fires, that’s not a product of alcohol. That’s produced by the way the car is designed and operates."

The lawsuit says Tesla failed to adequately warn drivers of the dangers created by the alleged defects. It seeks damages from Tesla.

IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert contributed to this report.

Contact IndyStar reporter Crystal Hill at 317-444-6094 or cnhill@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter: @crysnhill.