Case against Fiat Chrysler Automobiles followed fatal 2016 accident when star’s own Grand Cherokee rolled on to him

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The family of the late Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin has settled a wrongful death lawsuit with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles over the rollaway crash of a Jeep Grand Cherokee that killed the up-and-coming actor.

The actor, known for roles in Star Trek and Green Room, died in June 2016 after his Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled on to him at his home in Los Angeles. The car was under recall for problems with the gear shifter.

Terms of the settlement, which was filed in Los Angeles superior court, have not been disclosed.



Yelchin was remembered in February during the In Memoriam section of the 2017 Oscars.

The film world was shocked when it was announced that Yelchin had died following the freak accident at home involving his car.



Born in Russia in 1989, Yelchin was brought to the US as a baby after his champion ice-skater parents were classed as refugees by the State Department. He began acting professionally aged 9, and appeared in TV shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Criminal Minds, as well as films such as Alpha Dog and Fierce People.

However, it was being cast as Pavel Chekov, navigator of the USS Enterprise in the 2009 Star Trek film, directed by JJ Abrams, that brought his name to a wide international audience. His immediate likability in the role saw his career expand rapidly: he starred alongside Felicity Jones in Like Crazy, the Sundance award-winning romance directed by Drake Doremus, and with Patrick Stewart in Green Room, the punk-club horror film directed by Jeremy Saulnier.

Yelchin also reprised his Chekov role in subsequent Star Trek films – Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond – the latter of which was released shortly after his death.

With Reuters