The parents of the late “Star Trek” movie actor Anton Yelchin sued Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV for negligence and product liability on Tuesday over the rollaway crash of a Jeep Grand Cherokee that killed their son.
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The actor was the Yelchins’ only son, and they filed Friday to oversee his estate, which is valued at almost $1.4 million. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged the recall because of complaints from drivers that a problem with the gear shift made it hard to tell whether the auto was in park.
The Russian-born actor died instantly when his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee pinned him against a concrete mailbox at his house in Los Angeles on June 19, according to police.
At a press conference yesterday, Yelchin’s tearful parents spoke about pursuing action against Chrysler so their son’s fate wouldn’t be repeated. However AutoNation Chrysler Dodge Jeep, one of the named defendants, said they “had nothing to do with” the “unfortunate accident” because they did not own the store when Yelchin purchased the vehicle.
“He never cared about being a star”, Irina said, wiping tears from her eyes. “He loved life very much…”
She added that while her son was always special, “now he is very special, because his death may save other lives”.
Referencing Fiat Chrysler, Dordick said, “They can not wait for someone to be hurt or someone to be killed before they do the right thing”.
Yelchin’s father Victor told reporters on Tuesday, “With unbelievable grief, we chose to come here to prevent other families with the same tragedy”.
Yelchin played Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek franchise, and left behind several unreleased projects including the Netflix animated series Trollhunters and four films.
“This all stems from Fiat Chrysler recalling more than a million Jeep Grand Cherokees earlier this year because the gear shifter, when people think it’s in park it may not actually be in park”, LeBeau explained.
A U.S. government investigation into the gear sticks found 266 crashes had injured 68 people as of the end of June.
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“FCA US urges customers to follow the instructions in their owner manuals and the information cards sent with their recall notices”. Dordick said in an email that he does not know if Anton Yelchin received the May notice, as it could not be found among his belongings. “These instructions include advising customers to set the parking brakes in their vehicles before exiting”, the statement read.
