yes and no. Modern cars automatically (most with an option to disable) lock the doors, yes. This is to maintain crash integrity BTW. Not anti-carjacking as many

yes and no. Modern cars automatically (most with an option to disable) lock the doors, yes. This is to maintain crash integrity BTW. Not anti-carjacking as many folks seem to assume. But also, it's required that the doors mechanically unlock when you use the interior handle. In this case: > That’s because the car’s retractable door handles, which are supposed to “auto-present” when they detect a key fob nearby, malfunctioned and first responders weren’t able to open the doors and save Awan, the suit alleges. It didn't matter. Clearly Awan was unconscious or unable to extricate himself. As you said, most cars auto-lock the doors. If the doors were locked (we don't know from this article), it wouldn't matter if the handles "auto presented" themselves or not. They wouldn't be able to open them from outside the car. If the doors were unlocked, well that's a different story.