Trekkies around the world were united in their grief over the death of Anton Yelchin, who played the role of Chekov, the young Russian navigator of the USS Enterprise in the latest Star Trek movies.

You may have heard about the unusual and tragic circumstances surrounding his death, his SUV rolling away and Yelchin becoming pinned against a fence.

His cause of death was accidental blunt force asphyxia, although Fiat Chrysler have some serious questions to answer. Below from Huffington Post:

Fiat Chrysler in April recalled more than 1.1 million cars and SUVs worldwide because vehicles may roll away after drivers exit, an issue linked to 41 injuries, 212 crashes and 308 reports of property damage, though it had no immediate fix for owners…

In a May 24 letter to dealers, Fiat Chrysler said it anticipated having the software updates required to fix the vehicles no later than July or August. The company previously had told owners it hoped to come up with a “permanent” remedy by the fourth quarter.

Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, said Monday that “while waiting for a recall remedy to be developed, the predictable happened. Anton Yelchin died. How many more people will be killed or injured waiting for a recall remedy of this fatal manufacturing flaw?”

Fiat Chrysler spokesman Eric Mayne said the company would conduct a “thorough investigation” of Yelchin’s accident. “It is premature to speculate on its cause at this time,” he added.

Of course not Eric, although the dots are rather easy to line up.

Fiat Chrysler said back in April that the recall was because many drivers mistakenly thought they had placed their vehicles in park, only realising their error once they had exited.

Fiat Chrysler said some drivers might have been confused by the electronic gearshift system, which moves more like a joystick than along a gate path like conventional gear selectors.

The company said in April that it planned to update the vehicles to automatically prevent them from moving, under certain circumstances, even if the driver fails to put the vehicle in park.

I’d say they go ahead and make that a top priority, celebrity deaths are not a good look for a car manufacturer.

[source:huffpost]