The shocking death of Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin, 27, has raised questions about whether his Jeep might have suffered a dangerous design flaw that caused his fatal freak accident.
The body of the Russian-born actor was found pinned against the gate of his home by his 5,000 pound (2.5 ton) Jeep Grand Cherokee at around 1am in Studio City, California.
Investigators said the car had been left in neutral and rolled down the steep driveway at him - and now some believe that might have happened because of a flawed design in certain models of Jeep.
Thousands of Jeep Grand Cherokees were subject to a voluntary recall in the US and worldwide because a confusing gear stick design made it easy for drivers to forget the car was in neutral, not park, when the driver got out.
The Jeep's electronic gear stick sprang back to the same position after being shifted, meaning drivers could not tell by looking at it whether the vehicle was in park or neutral.
They had to rely on a warning light. The flaw was blamed for hundreds of accidents across the US when driver left their Jeeps without realising they were not in park.
To fix the problem, Jeep enhanced the warning sounds when the car was left in neutral and made it impossible for the Grand Cherokee to move under certain circumstances.
Fiat Chrysler ran a voluntary recall in April this year on Jeep Grand Cherokees that were manufactured between July 16, 2012, and December 22, 2015.
Exactly what model of Cherokee Yelchin owned, as well as the circumstances leading up to his death, have not yet been established - but the nature of the flaw in the recalled model of Jeep makes for a compelling case.
According to a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report, 'The affected vehicles ... 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.'
It continued: '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.'
His friend had visited his Los Angeles home after growing concerned when Yelchin failed to attend a planned rehearsal earlier in the evening, where he discovered the actor's body
Fiat Chrysler say the problem is that when the driver shifts the gear into park the only indication is a light on the console - so if drivers aren't careful they might leave it in gear when they think it's parked.
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