(L.A.) Anton Yelchin, 27, Died in a Driveway

Case Number: 2016-04493

Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 27-year-old Caucasian male that occurred in a driveway in Studio City.

The coroner’s office has identified the man as Anton Yelchin, born in the Soviet Union.

Manner of Death: Accident

Cause of Death: Blunt Traumatic Asphyxia

RIP ANTON YELCHIN (March 11, 1989 – June 19, 2016)

Formal pronouncement of death was made on Sunday at 1:10 a.m. when the body was found.

The decedent was an actor known for playing Chekhov in the rebooted Star Trek films. He died after being pinned between his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a brick pillar gate post outside his house, presumably late Saturday night.

As he had gotten out of his car and gone to check his locked gate for mail, the vehicle apparently rolled back down his driveway, which was on a steep incline, and trapped him against the pillar and a security fence. The vehicle crushed his lungs, and it is believed he died within 60 seconds of the impact.

It later emerged that that SUV model was being recalled because the gear shifters have confused drivers, causing the vehicles to roll away unexpectedly. Most 2015 Grand Cherokees were part of a global recall of 1.1 million vehicles announced by manufacturer Fiat Chrysler in April 2016.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration urged the recall amid complaints that drivers had difficulty telling whether they had put the automatic transmissions in park. If they weren’t in park and a driver left the vehicle, it could roll away.