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 The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, is
believed to be the first wrongful death complaint linked to the
Fiat Chrysler recall in April of more than 1.1 million cars and
SUVs because of vehicles that roll away after drivers exit them.
Yelchin, 27, was killed on June 19 when his 2015 Grand Cherokee,
which was covered under the recall, rolled backward in the steep
driveway of his Los Angeles home and crushed the actor against a
brick wall and fence.
The 18-page lawsuit points to a transmission gear-selector
design it describes as "defective" as being the cause of
numerous driverless rollaway mishaps like the one that killed
Yelchin.
Gary Dordick, the attorney representing Yelchin's parents, said
Fiat Chrysler had sent a recall letter to the actor that was
received seven days after his death.
The undated letter addressed to Yelchin was displayed at the
news conference and said "your vehicle may roll away, striking
and injuring you, your passengers, or bystanders, if the
vehicle's engine is left running, the parking brake is not
engaged, and the transmission is not in the "PARK" position
before exiting the vehicle."
Dordick said Yelchin had returned to his home on the evening of
June 19 to pick up something he had forgotten and exited the
car, "believing the vehicle to be in park."
The Russian-born actor, whose parents were both celebrated
figure skaters in the former Soviet Union, was best known for
playing the young starship navigator Pavel Chekov in the movie
reboot of "Star Trek."
"In spite of our unbelievable grief, we decided to come here to
prevent other families from the same tragedy," his father,
Victor Yelchin, said in tearful remarks to reporters.
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His wife, Irina Yelchin, said of her son, "He was very special, but
now he's very special because his death might just save some other
life."
The automaker said in a statement it had not been served with a
lawsuit and declined to comment on it, but expressed its "sympathies
to the Yelchin family for their tragic loss."
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has
said that the gear selectors in question clearly pose a safety issue
that has led to hundreds of crashes and dozens of injuries.
The problem has been tied to at least 68 injuries, 266 crashes and
308 reports of property damage. Yelchin's death marked the first
known fatality linked to the issue.
The recall applies to 811,000 vehicles in the United States,
covering the 2014-2015 model years of the Jeep Grand Cherokee sport
utility vehicle and 2012-2014 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 sedans.
Fiat Chrysler announced in June that it would soon furnish software
upgrades to address the problem in all recalled vehicles.
(Additional reporting by David Shepardson in Traverse City,
Michigan; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Grant McCool and
Jonathan Oatis)
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