At a press conference yesterday, Yelchin’s tearful parents spoke about pursuing action against Chrysler so their son’s fate wouldn’t be repeated. “It is wrong, it is against nature when parents bury (their) own child”.
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The driveway to the home of Anton Yelchin, where he died. The Los Angeles County medical examiner said his death was accidental.
“In spite of our grief we chose to come here to prevent other families for the same tragedy”, Viktor Yelchin, the actor’s father said.
“That’s why we hope that this lawsuit will make a family never go through the same hell we’re going through right now”.
Fiat Chrysler (FCAM) filed a recall notice in April with federal safety regulators for the 2015 Grand Cherokee, the model Yelchin owned, along with 1.1 million cars and SUVs.
It wasn’t until a week after Yelchin’s death the late actor received another notice informing him that the company had a fix for the gear shift, Dordick said. “Now that Anton was killed by his vehicle after 700 prior incidents, they said they sped up the recall”.
A government investigation into the gear shifters found 266 crashes that had injured 68 people as of late June.
In July 2015, FCA issued a safety recall for Yelchin’s 2015 Jeep over concerns that its onboard computer was vulnerable to hacking.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial.
Anton Yelchin’s father and mother eventually spoke to reporters at the press conference.
Now, Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin are taking legal action against the multi-national company, which makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee owned by the actor, along with manufacturer ZF North America and the AutoNation vehicle retailer.
His parents say they appreciate the outpouring of support from Anton’s fans.
Fiat Chrysler offered their sympathies to Yelchin’s family in a statement, but said it could not comment on their plans for a lawsuit. “I don’t think it’s part of corporate culture to say, ‘I’m sorry, ‘ ” said Dordick.
“They can not wait for someone to be hurt or someone to be killed before they do the right thing”, says Dordick.
The Yelchins became administrators of their son’s estate Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Attorney revealed that Star Trek’s star left to parents $641,000 in personal property and $731,000 in equity in his home.
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The Coroner stated Yelchin died of blunt traumatic asphyxia.
