Anton Yelchin, dead pinned by his own car

[Donald]

The actor who stars in Star Trek movies died after being pinned by his car against a security fence and mailbox pillar. With all the interlocks cars have these days this kind of accident seems odd.

But sad, an up and coming actor dead at 27.

 

[Rand]

I just read about that it popped up in the middle of my cleveland drought is ended reading.
Do we know what kind of car? Seems like it has to be operator error.

Doubt he had a MT and the parking brake failed. Maybe something with one of the new fancy electronic emergency brakes.. but still why wasnt it in park?

 

[JennyHemi]

This has yet to be confirmed, but there is some suspicion that Yelchin's Jeep Grand Cherokee might have been a model involved in a recall this past April for an issue with the electronic shifter:

" The affected vehicles, equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission and a monostable gear selector, 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.

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."

By April 12, 2016, Fiat Crysler had identified 212 crashes, 308 claims of property damage, and 41 injuries related to the issue, according to a submission [PDF] to the NHTSA.

http://gizmodo.com/anton-yelchin-death-jeep-cherokees-were-recalled-for-c-1782255236

The recall issue is strikingly similar to what appears to have happened to Yelchin. There are a lot of questions yet to be answered, but if the vehicle is even partly at fault, this incident will be huge.

 

[topbliss]

the article I read said the car was in neutral and idling when they found it

 

[JennyHemi]

Originally Posted By: topbliss
the article I read said the car was in neutral and idling when they found it


As far as I can tell, that's exactly the issue with the recall--the shifter appears to be in park, but the indicator on the dash says it isn't... or something like that. I'm still reading up on it...

 

[Tegger]

Originally Posted By: topbliss
the article I read said the car was in neutral and idling when they found it

And the parking brake was OFF, right?

I find it baffling that so many people fail to use the parking brake.

 

[JennyHemi]

Originally Posted By: Tegger
Originally Posted By: topbliss
the article I read said the car was in neutral and idling when they found it

And the parking brake was OFF, right?

I find it baffling that so many people fail to use the parking brake.


Yeah, I learned from driving in San Francisco to not only use the parking brake on inclines, but to aim the wheels correctly. On a flat surface, I'll trust PARK, but never on an incline.

It's also unclear why Yelchin got out of the car at all - I wonder about that, too.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Last week I happened to catch an earlier film of his, Charlie Bartlett from 2007. Yelchin played the lead: a rich boy (he rides to school in, and drives, a Mercedes 600 limo) shifted to a new school, who develops a great way to become popular and liked: he becomes the students' unofficial therapist (and occasional drug dealer!). At the time I didn't recognize his name from the Star Trek films.

RIP, sir.

 

[Donald]

I am remembering maybe 10 or 20 years ago when some vehicles (Fords maybe) were slipping out of park with engine running and running over the driver who got out to get the mail.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: Tegger
Originally Posted By: topbliss
the article I read said the car was in neutral and idling when they found it

And the parking brake was OFF, right?

I find it baffling that so many people fail to use the parking brake.


Can't fix stupid. When my mom got her 2014 Fusion, I got her into the habit of always using the parking brake when she puts the car in park. It is much easier on her Fusion with the electronic brake than when she had to push on the pedal.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Several years ago I befriended a very pretty young lady at a night club in Calgary. I was on a road trip with a few of my buddies.

Anyway, a little while later Facebook began and I added her as a friend. I never actually met up with her after that, but I eventually moved to Calgary for work.

A few years later I visited her profile and saw all of the condolences posted on her page. She was found dead when her SUV was at one of those automated ticket machines and she somehow got pinned between her door, and the B pillar on her car, near the bottom of the door (according to the news report).

From what I gather when she stopped to obtain the ticket from the machine, she dropped it. Without putting the car into park before she opened the door, she opened it with her foot on the brake and when her foot slipped off the brake the vehicle continued to move forward. The door was then pressed up against the ticket machine and crushed her to death as she tried to obtain the ticket from the ground.

One heck of a way to go

 

[JennyHemi]

It's now been confirmed that Yelchin's Grand Cherokee was a 2015 model covered by the aforementioned recall. That's all they're saying at this point, as the investigation is ongoing.

 

[Kira]

We have "Amber Alerts" and Megan's Law....now we need Chekov's Checklist before exiting a car. Kira

 

[Kuato]

Bummer. It does seem odd though.

RIP Chekov II

 

[HTSS_TR]

What is wrong with traditional shifter ? Why do they keep fixing thing that work okay until it failed.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
What is wrong with traditional shifter ? Why do they keep fixing thing that work okay until it failed.


That's how innovation works. Sometimes a great idea is but one small change to how it's always been. For instance, what is so hard about putting the key into the door to unlock? Turns out, a simple transmitter&receiver to make the power locks do their is a small matter, yet many people find it very convenient--a very welcome upgrade.

I agree in this case, I prefer a regular traditional shifter, though.

 

[RoadRaceJosh]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
What is wrong with traditional shifter ? Why do they keep fixing thing that work okay until it failed.


It's a fully electronically actuated gearbox. No manual valve body, no manual valve to move with a shifter. Ease of operation has driven auto development from the beginnings. That's why Henry's pedal-operated planetary transmission was dropped for a sliding-gear 3-speed. And why sliding gear 3-speeds were replaced by snchronized 3-speeds which were replaced by hydraulically controlled and actuated planetary transmissions with torque converters. And...

 

[Olas]

If he left the vehicle in gear, with the engine idling, it serves him right.

We observe health&safety, and common sense, for good reason.

 

[JennyHemi]

Originally Posted By: Olas
If he left the vehicle in gear, with the engine idling, it serves him right.


Oh come on. You're that perfect and that unforgiving that you can comfortably say a young man deserved to be crushed to death for trusting a gear shift?!

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: supton
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
What is wrong with traditional shifter ? Why do they keep fixing thing that work okay until it failed.


That's how innovation works. Sometimes a great idea is but one small change to how it's always been. For instance, what is so hard about putting the key into the door to unlock? Turns out, a simple transmitter&receiver to make the power locks do their is a small matter, yet many people find it very convenient--a very welcome upgrade.

I agree in this case, I prefer a regular traditional shifter, though.

There are innovative and there are change for the sake of change.

Innovations:
Fuel injector vs carburetor
Disc brake with ABS vs drum
4-valve double-overhead-cam vs 2-valve pushrod
HID vs halogen headlight
...

Change for the sake of change and worse(much less reliable):
Electric water pump
Pressure expansion tank(in coolant system)
Drive-by-wire
Steer-by-wire
...