DETROIT — In an era of unprecedented scrutiny of automotive safety, Fiat Chrysler is learning that one celebrity’s death can turn a seemingly routine recall into a corporate crisis.
The death on Sunday of the actor Anton Yelchin, crushed when his Jeep Grand Cherokee rolled backward down his driveway, has lent a new sense of urgency to a recall announced in April. And it has prompted Fiat Chrysler to accelerate its plans to modify gearshifts in 1.1 million vehicles linked to hundreds of rollaway accidents and dozens of injuries.
