‘Star Trek Beyond’ Star Anton Yelchin Dies at 27 Following Fatal Car Accident, Industry Friends Send Condolences over Social Media

‘Star Trek Beyond’ actor Anton Yelchin dies at age 27 following a freak car accident in his home. Famous industry friends and colleagues sent their condolences over social media upon learning of his passing.

According to Variety, Yelchin passed away early on Sunday following a deadly vehicular accident. The statement from his representative read, “Actor Anton Yelchin was killed in a fatal traffic collision early this morning… His family requests you respect their privacy at this time.”

The LAPD found him pinned between his 5,000 pound Jeep Grand Cherokee and a gate in his Studio City, California home with the car engine still running and gears in neutral. Investigators believed that he had been hit by his own car as it rolled backwards.

A statement from the police read, “It appears he had exited his car and was behind it when the vehicle rolled down a steep driveway.” It was reported that friends became worried when he failed to show up at a band performance on Saturday evening.

According to another article on the Daily Mail, LAPD spokeswoman Jenny Houser said that Yelchin may have succumbed to trauma on impact. Sources said that the police are conducting an investigation although they don’t believe that there was any suspicious activity involved.

Yelchin is best known for his role as Pavel Chekhov in the rebooted ‘Star Trek’ franchise. Pavel is a human male commander affiliated with Federation Starfleet. The character was played by Walter Koenig in the original television series and the first seven ‘Star Trek’ films.

The late actor was introduced as the navigator and security chief aboard the USS Enterprise in the first film in the rebooted series ‘Star Trek’, directed by J.J. Abrams and released in 2009. The film warranted more sequels – and more appearances from Yelchin - after becoming a box office success as well as earning multiple accolades. According to Box Office Mojo, it grossed $385.68 million worldwide against a $150 million production budget.

Yelchin was born to well-known professional figure skaters Irina and Viktor Yelchin. They fled to the United States as political refugees when Yelchin was only a baby. He began his career as a child actor in the 1990s and took his first professional role on the film ‘A Man is Mostly Water’.

He went on to appear in several Hollywood films such as Lee Tamahori’s ‘Along Came A Spider’,  Scott Hicks’ Stephen King novel adaptation ‘Hearts in Atlantis’, Jon Poll’s ‘Charlie Bartlett’, and the romantic comedy anthology ‘New York, I Love You’. He also worked with some of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors including Anthony Hopkins, Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, and Robert Downey Jr.

Industry friends and colleagues including ‘Star Trek’ co-stars Jon Cho and Zachary Quinto went on social media to express their condolences over his passing following news of his death on Sunday.

‘Star Trek Beyond’ is an upcoming action-adventure and science fiction film intended as the 13th film in the popular ‘Star Trek’ franchise. It is directed by Justin Lin and produced by J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, and Roberto Orci with Jeffrey Chernov, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, Tommy Harper, and Lindsey Weber executive producing. It is scheduled to premiere on July 22, 2016.