Anton Yelchin, best known for his roles as Pavel Chekov in the Star Trek reboot and as Bobby Garfield in Hearts in Atlantis, was killed early Sunday morning when he was pinned against a brick mailbox by his SUV.
His vehicle, a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, was in neutral when it pinned the actor against the mailbox and a security fence at the bottom of a steep hill, according to Los Angeles police and reported by CBS News.
The CBS News report also quoted Los Angeles police spokesman Lt. Larry Dietz as saying that it was “just one of those freak accidents” and that the actor didn’t properly shift his car into park.
2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees are part of a larger recall issued by Fiat Chrysler in April. The recall, which affects 2014 and 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokees, Chrysler 300s and Dodge Chargers equipped with the Monostable or E-Shift transmission shifters, addresses concerns over a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation in which they called the shifter “non-intuitive” and that it increased the chance of a driver putting it into a gear they didn’t intend.
The NHTSA investigation found 121 crashes and 30 injuries linked to the shifter and confusion as to whether or not the car was put into park.
Police haven’t linked the actor’s death to the Jeep’s transmission.
Stay tuned to TFLcar.com for more updates on this breaking news event.
Update #1 – 6/20/2016
Fiat Chrysler spokesperson Eric Mayne said the company will conduct “a thorough investigation” of the accident that killed the young actor. It has been confirmed that Yelchin’s Grand Cherokee was recalled but had not yet received the necessary fix.
