‘Star Trek’ actor killed in car accident

World Today

In this June 11, 2015, file photo, Anton Yelchin arrives at a special screening of “Burying the Ex” held at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)

‘Star Trek’ actor Anton Yelchin has been killed in freak car accident at the age of 27.

Yelchin, a rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new “Star Trek” films, was killed by his own car as it rolled down his driveway in Los Angeles early on Sunday, police and his publicist said.

The car pinned Yelchin against a brick mailbox pillar and a security fence at his home, police officer Jenny Hosier said.


He had got out of the vehicle momentarily, but police did not say why he was behind it when it started rolling.

Yelchin was on his way to meet friends for a rehearsal, Hosier said. When he didn’t show up, the group came to his home and found him dead.

The freak accident tragically cuts short the promising career of an actor whom audiences were still getting to know and who had great artistic ambition.

“Star Trek Beyond,” the third film in the rebooted series, comes out in July.

Director JJ Abrams, who cast Yelchin in the franchise, wrote in a statement that he was “brilliant … kind … funny as hell, and supremely talented”.


Story by the Associated Press