ANTON YELCHIN
Anton Yelchin was 27 years old when he died in a freak accident in Los Angeles on June 19, 2016. Yelchin was a successful American actor, and on the night of June 19, Anton left his home for a rehearsal when he exited his 2015 Jeep Cherokee in the driveway. It is unknown why he got out, possibly to check the mail, but the Jeep rolled down the inclined driveway and pinned Anton against a brick post attached to the security gate. When Anton failed to show up for rehearsal, friends discovered Yelchin deceased. They found the car idling in neutral.
A lawsuit filed by Yelchin’s parents against Fiat Chrysler stated the actor was crushed and didn’t die immediately.
The Jeep Cherokee was among 1.1 million vehicles recalled because the gear shifters were confusing drivers, which could cause the car to roll away.
Fiat Chrysler reached a confidential settlement with the Yelchin family in 2018.
Kristy Kelley
27-year-old mom Kristy Kelley went missing on August 15, 2014, in Boonville, Indiana. Kristy met up with friends at the local VFW. Her friends left, but Kristy stayed until around 1:45 am. VFW staff say she was sitting on a barstool one minute but gone the next. After she failed to show up to work the next day, the police were called. Kristy’s cell phone was found in the VFW bathroom, but Kristy was missing.
Thirty-two days later, on September 16, Kristy’s Nissan Xterra was pulled from water near the Mount Gilead and Yankeetown road intersection in Warrick County, Indiana. When the SUV was pulled out of the water, the gearshift was in park, and Kristy’s keys were in her pocket, not in the ignition. Kristy was found in the backseat of the vehicle.
An autopsy concluded she drowned, and investigators ruled her death an accident. Kristy’s family had questions. Why did surveillance footage show Kelly driving west toward her house, but police found her car miles in the opposite direction?
The automobile also had more damage than expected from running off the road. It appeared the SUV had struck something before entering the water. Also, why would the vehicle be in “park” and the keys be in Kristy’s pocket? And why would she have left her phone at the VFW?
The case was closed in 2014, and the sheriff had the case file sealed, meaning no one could get access to the file. Kristy’s father successfully filed a motion to have the case file unsealed in 2019.
After seeing the case file, Todd Scales, Kristy’s father, subpoenaed Verizon Wireless for Clay Kelley’s cellphone records from July 2014 to October 2014. Clay Kelley is Kristy’s ex-husband. Indiana State Police records showed Kristy and Clay had argued via text about her boyfriend, and there was a text from Kristy to Clay saying, “you would probably kill me and hide my body.”
There have been no new updates in this case.
MEIGHAN CORDIE
27-year-old Meighan Cordie attended a family friend’s wedding at Heiser Farms on Grand Island, Oregon, in August 2018.
Accompanying her were her three-year-old daughter Gia, and her mother, Jennifer Weathers, 50. Meighan and her mom had argued the day before about who would be the designated driver. This was nothing new as they were known to have a tumultuous relationship.
Jennifer ended up driving the trio in her silver Honda CRV.
Witnesses at the wedding say Cordie was drinking but not intoxicated. Jennifer, however, seemed drunk.
Meighan asked to leave at 10:30 pm because Gia was getting sleepy. Jennifer wanted to
stay. An argument ensued as they walked to the SUV. At one point, Meighan called her boyfriend and asked if he’d pick her up. He declined because he had to work early the following day.
The next day Jennifer reported Meighan missing. She said her daughter demanded to get out of the car the previous night, and Meighan jumped out of the window. Jennifer said she looked for Meighan but didn’t see her in the darkness. She figured Meighan would walk back to the venue and get a ride home, so she left. But Meighan never made it home.
Police had a hard time believing Jennifer’s version of events. A lot of things didn’t add up. A clump of Meighan’s hair was found in the front seat, as were her phone, purse, and shoes. The hair had roots attached, indicating it was pulled out. Investigators asked Jennifer to take a polygraph test. The results were inconclusive.
Joggers found Meighan’s body five days later, nine miles from where Weathers reported seeing her last. She was located 25 feet down an embankment. An autopsy revealed she died from blunt force trauma. Investigators believe Meighan jumped or fell out of the car, hit the guardrail, and rolled down the embankment.
Jennifer Weathers pled guilty to driving under the influence. She spent five days in jail and was ordered to have no contact with Gia, who lives with her father now. No charges were filed in Meighan’s death. Jennifer legally changed her name to Jennifer C. Jaeger in 2019.
KYLE PLUSH
“I probably don’t have much time left, so tell my mom that I love her if I die,” 16-year-old Kyle Plush told the 911 dispatcher before he died.
Plush was a sophomore at Seven Hills School in Madisonville, Ohio. Kyle played on the school tennis team and had an afternoon match on April 10, 2018. While in his Honda Odyssey van, he reached from the second-row seat into the third row to get his tennis gear when the third seat collapsed and pinned him between the seat and floor.
His phone was in his pocket, but he called 911 by voice activation at 3:16 pm. He told the dispatcher he was trapped and gave his location. Kyle and the dispatcher had difficulty hearing each other but officers were sent to the school. While the officers were riding around the campus, Kyle called 911 again at 3:35 pm. He stated he was in a gold Honda Odyssey. The dispatcher never gave this information to the dispatched officers, and they left without getting out of their patrol car. Kyle’s father discovered his body that night. He had died from asphyxia due to chest compression.
Kyle’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Cincinnati, two police officers, two 911 dispatchers, and the city manager. In 2021 the city of Cincinnati agreed to pay the Plush family $6 million. The city also committed to making improvements to the city’s 911 operations.
Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan was a successful American dancer known as the “The Mother Of Modern Dance.” In her philosophy of dance, Duncan shifted from rigid ballet techniques and moved toward a style that felt more natural.
Isadora Duncan (1877–1927) was born in San Francisco and led a wild and unconventional life for the era.
She experienced her fair share of heartache and tragedy. She would also have several automobile accidents during her lifetime.
In 1913, Isadora’s two children, Deirdre Beatrice and Patrick Augustus, were killed along with their nanny in an automobile accident when their car ran off a bridge into the Seine River in Paris.
In 1922 Isadora married Sergey Yesenin, a poet from Russia. Sergey was 17 years younger than Isadora. They had a turbulent marriage that ended in divorce, and in 1925 Yesenin committed suicide.
On September 14, 1927, Isadora was a passenger in a new Amilcar CGSS, a convertible sports car in Nice, France. The long scarf she had draped around her neck became entangled in the rear wheel, which pulled her from the vehicle, snapping her neck. She was 50 years old at the time of her death.
