Back in June, Anton Yelchin was crushed by his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee after it rolled down his driveway, pinning the Star Trek Beyond star between a metal gate and a brick pillar.
Yelchin’s parents, Irina and Viktor filed a wrongful death suit against the dealership for failure to notify Jeep owners in time about the car’s faulty parts.
The model had been recalled a few months prior to Yelchin’s death due to a parking malfunction.
“Anton’s car gear selector was defective and poorly designed, which caused the vehicle to roll back and fatally pin Anton against a wall.
Anton was “crushed and lingered alive for some time, trapped and suffocating until the death,” the lawsuit states.
“They should have never used this device.”
Jeep’s parent company, Fiat Chrysler US issued a statement sending their condolences to the Yelchin family, but also urging 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,” the statement read.
“We were always proud of him being greatest human being, not being a star or being an actor … It’s not right that he is not here,” his parents said at the press conference.
Now, according to TMZ, the Valencia,CA Chrysler dealership denies any liability in the accident.
The dealership claims that Yelchin’s death was a result of “misuse, misapplication, or damage” in operating the car