He also hit 3 other cars, 2 trees, and rammed into a stone wall.
Two teenagers in that one.
There's a reason you're not allowed to have pure drive-by-wire either, requiring mechanical connection to brake and steering.
While doors are generally less of a concern, but it's still nice to know that the door handle works when the electronics do not. Such as when there is a fire. Braking a window is harder than you might think if you don't carry a dedicated tool for it.
(And no, while this guy was a criminal, that does not mean all fires are by criminals, nor that criminals should burn to death)
Sure, if you are going 5x speed limit and then crash, I wouldn't blame anyone but the driver for that, I could also understand that it could be reasonable to expect a fire in that situation.
But this article is about the doors, if you are unable to open the door without a working battery, that is indeed a problem...
I'd say his family got a damn good lawyer, and by that I mean shameless.