Preliminary reports indicated that actor Anton Yelchin who appeared as Chekov in the recent Star Trek movies died due to a mechanical malfunction of his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The 27-year-old actor was killed in the driveway of his Studio City home over the weekend over the weekend of June 18-19 when the Jeep, parked on an inclined driveway, slipped into gear, pinning Yelchin between the vehicle and a brick-enclosed gate surrounding his property. The actor was alone at the time of the freak accident.
The death certificate lists his cause of death as accidental due to “Blunt trauma asphyxia,” and that his demise was “rapid” after the injury.
His Jeep was part of a nationwide recall because of the potential risks of “rollaway,” according to officials.
A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department spoke to CNN. stating, “The victim was on his way to meet his friends for a rehearsal and when he didn’t show up, his friends went to his house where they found him deceased by his car.”
He was discovered in his driveway located in the 3800 block of Berry Drive after 1 a.m.
The manufacturer, Fiat Chrysler, had just sent owners letters notifying them about the recall. The notices warned of safety defects in the gear shift that might cause them to “inadvertently fail to achieve the ‘PARK’ position before exiting the vehicle.”
The recall of over a million vehicles began in April, of which more than 800,000 were here in America, CNN reported.
If you were injured in a mishap involving one of the recalled vehicles, you may have a legitimate claim for damages or a civil lawsuit.