De ouders van de pas overleden Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) hebben afgelopen dinsdag autofabrikant Fiat Chrysler aangeklaagd. Victor en Irina Yelchin claimen dat de tragische dood van hun zoon een gevolg is van een gebrekkige 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Op 19 juni overleed Anton Yelchin op 27-jarige leeftijd. De jonge acteur stierf op zijn eigen oprijlaan. Vrienden vonden Yelchin beklemd tussen zijn Jeep Grand Cherokee, een bakstenen brievenbus en een tuinhek. Een woordvoerder van de politie heeft verteld dat de auto zou zijn teruggerold van de steile oprit naar de plek waar de acteur stond, waarna hij knel kwam te zitten.

"Anton's untimely death was due to a defective 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee that had a defective electronic transmission shift," aldus Gary Dordick, de advocaat van Victor en Irina Yelchin. "We are seeking punitive damages because we believe Fiat Chrysler, North America -- that made and manufactured and sold this product -- knew that it was defective. They failed to take action to protect the families that trusted them to make their vehicles safe."

Fiat Chrysler riep in april al wereldwijd meer dan 1 miljoen auto's en SUV's terug omdat dit voorval al meerdere malen is voorgekomen. Dit probleem met de auto wordt gelinkt aan ruim 41 verwondingen, 212 crashes en 308 meldingen van materiële schade.

"They didn't start fixing it until people were injured and people finally got killed," claimt Gary Dordick. "Now that Anton was killed by his vehicle after 700 prior incidents, they said they sped up the recall. It was too little, too late and we intend to hold them accountable and we intend to have a jury punish them. We want them made to know that that type of conduct, money and profits before safety, is unacceptable. They cannot wait for someone to be hurt and someone to be killed before they do the right thing."

De ouders van Anton Yelchin waren erg emotioneel tijdens de persconferentie. "It is wrong, it's against nature when the parents bury their own child," aldus de vader van Anton. "That’s why we hope that this lawsuit will make your family never go through the same hell we are going through right now."

Volgens de moeder van Anton, Irina Yelchin, kan de tragische gebeurtenis de levens van anderen redden. "A long time ago, when Anton just started acting, one of the questions the director asked after she spoke to him for 30 minutes was, 'Irina, how many kids do you have?' I said to her, 'To my regret, just one.' She said to me that he is very, very special. He was very special, but now he's very special because his death might save some other lives. He never wanted anything for himself, he never cared about being a star. He was just loving -- to us, his friends -- and he loved life very, very much."