Hollywood’s Incredible Deaths
Actor Anton Yelchin was once run over by his own car
© Variety / Getty Images
In Hollywood, unbelievable stories not only happen in front of the camera, but also behind it. GALA looks back at the dream factory’s most mysterious deaths and fates. This time: The incredible accidental death of young actor Anton Yelchin.
He could have been one of Hollywood’s greats, but actor Anton Yelchin’s life came to a tragic end on June 19, 2016 at the age of 27.
Anton Yelchin was crushed between the car and the mailbox
On a Saturday in June 2016, Anton Yelchin parked his Jeep Grand Cherokee at the top of his driveway and unsuspectingly walked down to the entrance of his home on the hillside above Ventura Boulevard in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles. Then it happened: the car backed down the steep driveway, crushing Yelchin against a stone mailbox and security gate. The “Los Angeles Times” then reported this, citing police officer Jenny Houser. She also said that friends drove to Anton’s house shortly after 1 a.m. on Sunday night because he did not show up for the rehearsal as expected. There they would have found his lifeless body.
Irina and Victor Yelchin revealed on October 8, 2017, just over a year after their son’s death Anton Yelchin, a larger than life statue, during a funeral ceremony at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles.
© David Livingston / Getty Images
Yelchin rose to Hollywood’s A-League that same year
The tragic yet wacky end of the star actor, who first played small roles in indie films and rose to Hollywood’s A-League with his role as Pavel Chekov in the 2016 sci-fi hit ‘Star Trek Beyond,’ was later ruled an accident by the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office.
Coroners confirmed to several US media outlets that the cause of death was “blunt suffocation trauma.” They estimated that Yelchin passed away from his injuries in less than a minute. He was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles in late June 2016.
Accident car was recalled because of “risk of rollover”.
A few days after his death, Fiat Chrysler launched an investigation, according to The Guardian, among others, because the US traffic safety agency National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the SUV had been recalled because of the “risk of overturning”.
In a report, the company said: “Drivers who mistakenly believe their vehicle’s transmission is in ‘Park’ can be struck and injured by the vehicle if they attempt to exit the vehicle with the engine running and the parking brake not applied.” More than 850,000 vehicles were affected at the time, and there were a few accidents.
Irina and Victor Yelchin broke down in grief during the tearful Aug. 2 press conference in Beverly Hills.
© Amanda Edwards / Getty Images
His parents reached a settlement with vehicle manufacturers in 2018
On August 2, 2016, his parents Irina and Victor Yelchin, two professional figure skaters, held a heartbreaking press conference on the death of their son. They then sued the vehicle manufacturer and almost two years later, in March 2018, they were able to reach a settlement with the car company.
Sources used: latimes.com, washingtonpost.com, theguardian.com