“Anton was our only son and a remarkable human being”. So, the closest relatives, his parents Irina and Victor Yelchin, filed to administrate of the son’s estate.
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Gary A. Dordick, attorney for the Yelchin’s, said of the accident, “It appears that Anton went back to his house to retrieve something”. Earlier this summer, Yelchin’s 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled down his driveway and trapped him against a mailbox and a security gate.
“This vehicle prior to Anton’s death had over 700 rolling incidents, dozens of people injured that they knew about”, said Dordick.
A wrongful death lawsuit filed by his parents against Fiat Chrysler said the gear changer on his Jeep was defective.
The lawsuit claims the SUV’s gear-shift design gives poor visual feedback that fails to properly alert the driver the “park” position has not been engaged, potentially leading to the sort of rollaway that crushed the actor.
A separate lawsuit was filed this month by law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLC, which is representing owners of these particular models and seeking unspecified damages.
Yelchin received a safety recall notice in May, and another notice was sent to the actor seven days after he died notifying him that the company had a fix for the gear shifter, Dordick said.
A USA government investigation into the gear sticks found 266 crashes had injured 68 people as of the end of June. In April, the company announced it would voluntarily recall about 1.1 million of the cars, including many 2012-14 Dodge Chargers, 2012-14 Chryslers 300s, and 2014-15 Jeep Grand Cherokees.
According to the attorney, the recall notice warned that drivers who think their auto is in park may be injured if they attempt to get out of the vehicle while the auto is on. His mother Irina Korina said, “We were always proud of him being the greatest human being – not for being a star”. We are deeply grateful for your unconditional love.
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“(Fiat-Chrysler) extends its sympathies to the Yelchin family for their tragic loss.”, a statement reads. Fiat Chrysler has said it is speeding up its recall of the vehicle. Although they expressed sympathy to the actor’s family, Fiat Chrysler didn’t comment on the lawsuit. Attorney revealed that Star Trek’s star left to parents $641,000 in personal property and $731,000 in equity in his home.
