Actor Anton Yelchin, known for this portrayal of Chekov in the Star Trek reboot movie trilogy, had died Sunday morning pinned between his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and his mailbox which was mounted on a brick pillar.
The 27-year old actor was found by his friends who were concerned about his absence and found him at his San Fernando Valley home, the car found still running and in neutral. The Los Angeles Police department has ruled out foul play and concluded that the car had rolled down Yelchin’s inclined driveway in a “freak accident”.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Jeep’s parent company, are now investigating the circumstances of the tragedy as there is a strong possibility that the particular unit owned by the actor was involved in recall issued in April 2015 that affected 1.1 million vehicles (and caused 41 known injuries) for a confusing electronic gear shift lever.
The shifter uses a lever design that returns to its original centred position after the driver pushes or pulls it to select a gear but the recall also surrounds the lack of sufficient feedback confirm whether a gear selection had been engaged.
The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), America’s road safety authority, details the recall:
Chrysler (FCA US LLC) is recalling certain model year 2012-2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 vehicles manufactured February 15, 2011, to November 27, 2014, and 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles manufactured July 16, 2012, to December 22, 2015. The affected vehicles, equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission and a monostable gear selector, may not adequately warn the driver when driver's door is opened and the vehicle is not in PARK, allowing them to exit the vehicle while the vehicle is still in gear.
Consequently:
Drivers thinking that their vehicle's transmission is in the PARK position may be struck by the vehicle and injured if they attempt to get out of the vehicle while the engine is running and the parking brake is not engaged.
The confusing nature of the gear shifter was reason enough for Jeep to release a video demonstrating its proper method of use, a key function in a vehicle’s operation that should be immediately intuitive.
Suppose you were the owner of a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee. You’re in your garage, you’ve started up the car, ready to reverse. In ‘neutral’, about to engage ‘reverse’. But something occurs to you, needing you to exit the vehicle in a bit of hurry, so you push the lever forward to disengage neutral and engage ‘park’.
Only, perhaps the push wasn’t forceful enough even though you thought it was, and it remains in neutral. You step outside the vehicle, but without any brakes the car begins to roll backwards and into the wall behind.
Right now, FCA says that it is in contact with authorities and will be conducting a through investigation with their help.
