TV Icon Michael Landon's Family Hunts For Answers In Grandson's Death

It's been more than 30 years since actor Michael Landon died from pancreatic cancer at age 54, and now the family of the late star of "Little House on the Prairie" and "Bonanza" has been dealt another tragedy: The death of his grandson, Dylan Lupia. Lupia was just 24 years old, CBS News reported, so he never got to meet his famous grandfather.

Per People, Michael's death was the subject of a 2019 episode of the Reelz docuseries "Autopsy: The Last Hours of." The show investigated the theory that the actor's cancer was possibly caused by radiation from a nuclear facility located near the "Little House on the Prairie" set. However, experts concluded that his alcohol use and smoking were the most likely culprits.

Now, one of Michael's nine children, realtor Shawna Landon, is hoping to get answers of her own by pushing for authorities to investigate her son's death. On August 17, Lupia's body was found on the side of a Rancho Palos Verdes street by two passing drivers, per CBS News, and it was later discovered that he had been struck by a Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus. Shawna told Page Six that an entire day passed before she was notified about Lupia's death, and when she started asking questions about what happened to her son, the answers didn't add up.

Shawna Landon told Page Six that she was settling in to spend a cozy night at home with her daughters, 10-year-old Olivia and 15-year-old Sophia, when she got the devastating call from the coroner's office. "I lost a child, and I don't think it's natural, ever, to lose a child," she told CBS News. "You're supposed to go before them." With the help of an attorney, she learned that the bus that struck Dylan Lupia hit him head-on while he was walking in a bike lane. She brought one of her siblings, Leslie Landon, with her to the site of her son's death, and Shawna told Page Six that her sister agreed with her conclusions. "There were no blind corners. It was complete daylight," she stated. "There was no way this bus driver couldn't have seen my son walking toward him with his eyes on the road."

The bus driver allegedly broke protocol by not immediately stopping the bus, and it wasn't until he reached his next stop that he contacted the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority. "[He] claimed that he was vandalized," Shawna told CBS News. There was reportedly one passenger riding the bus when the incident took place and she hopes that they will come forward to offer their account of what happened. "I assure you I will get every possible answer," Shawna wrote on Instagram.

Per CBS News, Los Angeles Metro has said that the incident is being investigated.