Anton Yelchin, best known for his work as Pavel Chekov in the rebooted Star Trek film franchise, has been pronounced dead at the age of 27.
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The friends who found the actor on the scene of the accident immediately notified Yelchin’s family. The Star Trek actor was found pinned to his mailbox by his auto at the bottom of his San Fernando home’s driveway.
According to TMZ, a security camera at the gate may have captured the events leading to Yelchin’s death, offering further explanation. A Los Angeles police spokesperson later said that foul play was not suspected. “It was the result of the victim’s own vehicle rolling backward down his steep driveway, pinning him against a brick mailbox pillar and security fence”. The actor was due to meet friends for a rehearsal at 11pm on 18 June and they grew suspicious when he did not turn up. His friends went to his house and found him deceased by his auto.
“It appeared that he momentarily exited his vehicle, leaving the driveway, ‘ said Houser”. In 2006, he received critical acclaim for his performance in crime drama Alpha Dog and starred as the title character in 2007’s Charlie Bartlett.
Born in Russian Federation on March 11, 1989, Yelchin was the only child of Irina Korina and Viktor Yelchin, celebrity skaters of the former Soviet Union. Director J.J. Abrams, who cast Yelchin in the “Star Trek” franchise, wrote in a statement that he was, “brilliant. kind. amusing as hell, and supremely talented”.
He wrote: “Our dear friend. our comrade. our anton. one of the most open and intellectually curious people i have ever had the pleasure to know'”.
The actor’s publicist, Jennifer Allen, confirmed his death and said his family requests privacy.
A number of actors and others who worked with Yelchin took to social media with tributes and expressions of dismay.
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Yelchin was born in St. Petersburg, the son of two figure skaters, and emigrated to the United States as an infant. He impressed critics and audiences with a series of prominent roles, holding his own against the likes of Anthony Hopkins and Robin Williams while playing shy or emotionally damaged kids in the likes of “House of D” and “Hearts in Atlantis”.
