"Star Trek" actor Anton Yelchin was killed when his car pinned him against a fence gate in the driveway of his Los Angeles early Sunday, the Los Angeles coroner's office confirmed to Lead Stories.
An autopsy will be conducted on Yelchin, 27, Sunday afternoon to determine the exact cause of death, the coroner's spokeswoman said.
The freak accident happened at the actor's home in the Studio City section to Los Angeles, which is in the San Fernando Valley. Yelchin apparently stepped out of his car on the steep driveway and the vehicle rolled toward him, crushing him against the metal gate and brick wall, an LAPD spokeswman said.
We're saddened to report the passing of Anton Yelchin, best known as Chekov @StarTrekMovie https://t.co/dgpY0gSuem pic.twitter.com/EXMCAJsKgx
-- Star Trek (@StarTrek) June 19, 2016
Yelchin, known for playing Bobby in "Hearts in Atlantis" in 2001 and as Pavel Chekov in the 2001 version of "Star Trek," was born in Leningrad, USSR -- now St. Petersburg) Russia -- to a Jewish family, according to his bio on the Internet Movie Database.
His latest film was "Green Room," a thriller in which Yelchin co-starred with Patrick Stewart.
