Actor Anton Yelchin, known for his role as Pavel Chekov in the new Star Trek movies, died early Sunday in a freak accident in which his own car pinned him against a brick pillar and gate at his home in California, according to dpa. Yelchin's spokeswoman confirmed the 27-year-old's death to dpa. "It appears he had exited his car and was behind it when the vehicle rolled down a steep driveway," the LA police said in a statement quoted by news reports. An investigator with the coroner's office told the LA Times there was "no obvious suspicious circumstances involved." Friends became concerned when Yelchin did not show up for a rehearsal, the entertainment publication Variety reported. They found his body between his car and the pillar and gate, the magazine said. Yelchin was born to professional Russian figure skaters in 1989 in the Soviet Union. He arrived in the United States as a baby and began acting as a child. His biggest role came in 2009 as Chekov, the navigation engineer, in Star Trek. He had the same role in 2013 in Star Trek: Into Darkness. He had roles in the movies Hearts in Atlantis, Alpha Dog and Charlie Bartlett and several television shows before being cast as Chekov. Star Trek co-star John Cho said on Twitter: "I loved Anton Yelchin so much. He was a true artist - curious, beautiful, courageous. He was a great pal and a great son. I'm in ruins." Anna Kendrick, another co-star in the Star Trek films, also mourned his loss on Twitter. "This is unreal. Anton Yelchin is such a talent. Such a huge loss." The third installment in the series, Star Trek Beyond, comes out in July.
