Gone too soon. Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin died in the early hours of Sunday, June 19, after a car accident in Los Angeles, his publicist Jennifer Allen, confirmed to Us Weekly. He was 27.
“Actor Anton Yelchin was killed in a fatal traffic collision early this morning,” she told Us in a statement. “His family requests you respect their privacy at this time.”
Police tell Us Weekly that the accident happened in L.A.’s Studio City neighborhood at about 1:10 a.m. on Sunday when Yelchin’s car rolled backward down his steep driveway, pinning him against his brick mailbox pillar and security fence.
He was on his way to meet friends for a rehearsal and when he didn’t show up, they went to his home and found him by his car. It appears he momentarily exited the car, leaving it in the driveway, and was behind the vehicle when it rolled backward, pinning him.
Yelchin was best known for playing Chekov in the new Star Trek films, alongside Idris Elba, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Chris Pine.
“I talked to J.J. [Abrams] a lot about what he wanted,” Yelchin once told Rotten Tomatoes about taking on the iconic role. “His thing was we’re not making something that’s supposed to be the old Star Trek. He’s making his own movie, but there is a bit of, like, I think people want to see what they love, so we’re all trying to find things that will remind people of the old characters. So it’s been interesting picking up on little things.”
He also previously had roles in Alpha Dog opposite Justin Timberlake, as well as the teen comedy Charlie Bartlett. Prior to that, the Russian-born actor had smaller roles in several indie films and TV shows.
The third Star Trek film, Star Trek Beyond, is set for release in July.