A recall notice for Anton Yelchin’s Jeep Grand Cherokee was mailed to his Los Angeles home seven days after he was killed on June 19 — his car rolled away and pinned him against a brick post — his parents’ attorney Gary Dordick said during a press conference in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, August 2.
“The safety recall was way too little and way too late,” Dordick said. “They should have never used this device.”
On Tuesday, the late Star Trek actor’s mother and father, Irina and Victor Yelchin, filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler — who manufactured Anton’s car — the Associated Press reports.
Victor and Irina joined their lawyer at the press conference and paid tribute to their son with moving remembrances.
“He was our only son,” Viktor said. “It is against nature when a parent buries his own child.” Irina tearfully added: “He never cared about being a star. He loved life very much. … His death is gonna save some other life.”
According to the AP, the couple’s suit alleges that their son’s car gear selector was defective, and claimed that its poor design was the reason that the SUV rolled out of its parked position on Anton’s steep driveway, trapping the 27-year-old between a brick wall and the car.
“Anton Yelchin was crushed and lingered alive for some time, trapped and suffocating until his death,” according to the lawsuit, which was obtained by the AP. The documents did not reveal how much money Irina and Victor are seeking in damages.
Fiat Chrysler released a statement on Tuesday, saying that the company has yet to see the lawsuit: “FCA US LLC extends its sympathies to the Yelchin family for their tragic loss. FCA US urges customers to follow the instructions in their owners manuals and the information cards sent with their recall notices. These instructions include advising customers to set the parking brakes in their vehicles before exiting.”
According to the AP, the June notice — which Yelchin never got to see — advised that Chrysler dealers would update the gear shifter software to add an “Auto Park” feature.
Yelchin’s SUV was reportedly one of the 1.1 million Fiat Chrysler vehicles that were recalled because of a faulty gearshift that made it difficult to safely rotate between park, drive and reverse, according to Variety. His untimely death inspired a class action lawsuit against the company.
Deadline reports that the class action lawsuit filed on June 23 accuses the manufacturer of “intentionally covering up fatal design flaws and deaths from the defects.”
