Their son died, burned after a car crash. A year later, they’re suing Chrysler.

After his Jeep Wrangler crashed in north Monroe County last year and caught fire, Tristan Anderson was able to get out, but his clothes were ablaze.

Anderson, 19, had been driving toward home with friends when the 2007 Jeep ran off Ga. 42 on Jan. 30, 2016, and struck several trees and a culvert before becoming airborne and landing on its side.

Monroe County deputies have said 19-year-old Devin-Michael Day, a back-seat passenger, was ejected from the Jeep during the early morning crash near Sidney Woods Drive. He was pronounced dead hours after the crash. Patrick James Carter, 20, a front-seat passenger, survived.

Anderson, who sustained severe burns to more than 90 percent of his body, died three days after the crash, according to a federal lawsuit filed Dec. 22 by his parents, John and Christina Anderson.

The Andersons contend that FCA US LLC, also known as the Chrysler Group LLC, is liable for the alleged defective design of the Jeep and negligence.

Contacted for comment Tuesday, the auto manufacturer issued a statement saying, “FCA US extends its sympathies to those affected by this violent crash. The company cannot comment on the lawsuit at this time as we have had little time to study its allegations. We note that the 2007 Jeep Wrangler meets or exceeds all applicable federal safety standards and has an excellent safety record.”

The lawsuit contends the Jeep’s fuel system and components were defective, creating a “dangerous propensity” for post-collision, fuel-fed fires in “foreseeable and survivable collisions” and that the fire wall was defective or failed to properly protect the vehicle's occupants.

The Andersons also maintain that adequate testing wasn’t performed and warnings were inadequate or absent to warn users of hazardous conditions, according to the suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia.

They contend that the defects were the cause of their son’s injuries and death.

The Andersons are seeking compensatory damages for their son’s medical and funeral expenses, compensation for his pain and suffering, the value of his life, attorneys fees and other damages.

The survivor’s statement

The three friends spent time at Billy’s Clubhouse and the Crazy Bull in Macon before going to an Applebee’s restaurant to retrieve Anderson’s Jeep, according to a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office investigative report.

Thomas Willingham, a lawyer representing Anderson’s parents in their lawsuit, said Anderson wasn’t under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.

According to the report:

Carter, a passenger who survived, told deputies that a friend had dropped the group off at an Applebee’s, and Anderson got onto Interstate 75 at Pierce Avenue. After getting off the interstate at Exit 188, Anderson turned onto Ga. 42 North and headed toward his home on River Walk.

Carter said Anderson had been smoking a cigarette and had just thrown it out when the Jeep started to leave the road.

Music was playing. Anderson was awake, he said.

Day, the other passenger, was asleep in the back seat.

Carter said he remembered seeing Day “bouncing” around in the back seat just before closing his eyes. He remembers the Jeep hitting trees.

Opening his eyes later, the Jeep was on its side. Anderson was unconscious. They were both strapped into the front seats.

Carter told deputies he unbuckled himself, freed a leg that had become stuck and fell to the ground. Anderson regained consciousness and fell to the ground as the Jeep started to become engulfed in flames.

Carter said Anderson tried to move away from the Jeep after his clothing had caught on fire, but he couldn’t.

A deputy later moved Carter and Anderson away from the burning Jeep.

Anderson was airlifted to an Atlanta hospital and died Feb. 2.

This story was originally published January 3, 2017 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Their son died, burned after a car crash. A year later, they’re suing Chrysler.."