People Who Died from Catastrophic Car Malfunctions

Twenty-seven-year-old Anton Yelchin.Star Trek.Anton Yelchin died at his Los Angeles home in 2016. His car struck him. He stood behind his Jeep Grand Cherokee. The car rolled backward down his steep driveway. It pinned him to his brick mailbox and security gate. Investigators said the car was in neutral during the accident. They did not know why he got out of the car. The Grand Cherokee had a recall. Other owners filed complaints and cited injuries. Yelchin's death was the first fatality.

In 2009, the Saylor family drove on the San Diego Highway. They lost control of their rental car. Before the 2009 Lexus E350 crashed, the family called 911. They reported the accelerator was stuck. The vehicle reached 120mph before hitting another car and landing in a ravine. All four passengers died.A 120mph speed caused the malfunction.The car smashed into another vehicle and landed in a ravine. All four passengers died.

The haunting 911 call made national news. It focused attention on Toyota defects. The death caused the company to issue two recalls. Over 5 million vehicles were recalled for floor mat issues. More than 4 million other cars were recalled for other defects. Toyota paid over $16 million for not recalling their vehicles sooner.

In 2010, Toyota gave the Saylor family an undisclosed payment for damages.

The "Fast and Furious" involved Paul Walker. Actor met an early death in 2013. He and his friend, Roger Rodas, took a Porsche Carrera GT for a drive. The vehicle hit a tree and a lamp post. It then burst into flames.

Both Walker's daughter (Meadow) and father sued Porsche separately. They claimed the car company failed to put in safety features that would have saved the actor's life.

Meadow's lawsuit claims her father survived the crash. He burned to death after getting trapped because of Porsche defects.Defects occurred.. The lawsuit continues.

General Motors took over 10 years to fix faulty ignition switches in their cars. These switches caused at least 124 deaths. GM eventually recalled over 30 million cars. These recalls shut off while driving and failed to deploy airbags.

GM failed to act fast on vehicle issues in 2010. On Brooke Melton's 29th birthday, the Chevy Cobalt she drove stalled. It spun into another car and flipped 15 feet into a creek. Melton died from the crash.The defective ignition switch flipped 15 feet into a creek.. Melton died from the crash.

Halloween is usually fun. For visitors at Harvest Hill Farms in Maine, a night in 2014 became a nightmare.

The farm's Haunted Hayride took a bad turn. A mechanical issue made the Jeep towing a tractor full of people lose control. The ride carried 22 passengers. The Jeep sped down a hill and crashed into a tree. Passengers were thrown from the trailer. One person died.He died in the fatal hayride..

Attendees at a church festival.church festivalKalie Gill, 15, died in 2014 in Westchester County, NY. She was walking with her sister when a car hit an intersection and killed her.

Lily Gray drove her Ford Pinto on the California Freeway. A rear impact caused the Pinto's gas tank to explode, causing flames. Gray died; passenger Richard Grimshaw was badly hurt.

In March 2016, Huma Hanif, 17, from Texas, drove her 2002 Honda Civic. She rear-ended a car ahead. The airbag deployed, sending shrapnel into the young girl's neck. The teen died from injuries.

Honda released a statement.Buzzfeed reported.After the accident, the statement read, "Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family of the driver during this difficult time."

James Rogers, 72, finished breakfast. He got into his 2007 Corvette. The car lost power; automatic locks failed. Rogers could not exit the car and died from heat exhaustion.

Pasquale and Rina Fontanini slept in their garage unaware of the danger. They had a 2013 Lincoln MKS, which included aThe key-less ignition was the issue.The ignition triggered and turned the car on, despite the common feature in newer vehicles.

Carbon monoxide filled the garage and entered the couple's home. The pair died from poisoning. This tragedy highlighted a rising number of key-less entry malfunction deaths—at least 12 have been counted.

Sean Kane, founder of Safety Research & Strategies, told the Chicago Tribune.The Chicago Tribune covered the story."Keyless ignition has upended the relationship between the driver and the car... It creates a situation where you can easily leave a vehicle running and not know it."

On New Year's Eve in 2009, Hasaya Chansuthus, 25, drove her Chevy Cobalt in the rain. She side-swiped another vehicle, crashing head-on into a tree at 70 miles per hour. Her Cobalt's airbags failed to deploy, killing her on impact.

The Chevy Cobalt's ignition switch issue caused many deaths, but this case stood out because of GM's response to the accident.

In 2006, Natasha Weigel, 18, and Amy Rademaker, 15, both died when their Chevy Cobalt hit a tree. Amy sat in the passenger seat; Natasha was in the back. An ignition switch failure caused the accident, and the airbags did not deploy.

Carlos Solis, 35, from Houston, left his home when another vehicle struck the front end of his car. The impact set off the airbag of his 2002 Honda Accord, sending shrapnel into his neck.

Remington Walden, four years old, died from a car malfunction. He was riding in the back of his aunt's 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee when it was struck from behind. The impact caused a gas tank explosion, setting the vehicle on fire.

Trina Harris's 2009 Toyota Corolla failed to brake near a stop sign. Her car sped through the intersection, hitting a wall and killing her right away.

Hien Tran's death initially seemed like a...Homicide involved the airbags.Tran sustained numerous stab wounds across her body. Investigators later found the airbags in her 2001 Honda Accord burst after a crash caused Tran's injuries. Tran's family sued Takata and Honda for her death.