SUV That Rolled, Killed 'Star Trek' Actor Was Under Recall

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — A Los Angeles coroner's official says the death of "Star Trek" actor Anton Yelchin has been ruled an accident.

Coroner's spokesman Ed Winter says an autopsy performed Sunday determined the 27-year-old actor died of blunt force asphyxia after his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee pinned him against a brick mailbox pillar and a security fence in his driveway early Sunday.

Winter says any toxicology results will take months to analyze.

Officer Jane Kim says the investigation will look into whether the actor's vehicle, a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, was in gear or in park at the time of the accident. That very model Jeep is under a current recall because the gear shifters have confused drivers, causing the vehicles to roll away unexpectedly.

Fiat Chrysler, which makes Jeeps, said in a statement Monday that it's investigating and it's premature to speculate on the cause of the crash. It offered sympathies to Yelchin's friends and family.

Most 2015 model year Grand Cherokees were part of a global recall of 1.1 million vehicles announced by Fiat Chrysler in April over a defect in its electronic gear shift.

There have been more than 600 complaints about the cars not properly going into park and, in some cases, rolling away.

"As I walked back towards the garage, I noticed the car was moving a little bit, so I got between the car and the garage and I was able to yell for my son and stop the car at the same time," Gary Titus told CBS News, adding that he was lucky he wasn't hurt or killed when his 2014 Grand Cherokee, now recalled, rolled away.

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

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