The kid chose to drive while drunk and on drugs. They’re lucky they didn’t kill anyone else.
And that should 100% play any part in assigning fault if it goes to court. Yes, I agree that it is very fortunate there were no other deaths. But the article does not read that they had all been impaired. Any means of egress should be easy to find and easy to operate,even if a person is not in the best of conditions. So the question remains, did the design of the locks and lever prevent anyone from being able to get out of the car?