STAR TREK ACTOR ANTON YELCHIN DEAD AT 27 AFTER FATAL CAR ACCIDENT

ton Yelchin, known for his breakthrough performance in 2007’s Alpha Dog and for playing Chekov in J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek reboot, was found dead at his Studio City, CA home early Sunday (June 19) morning, the Associated Press confirms. He was 27.

TMZ reports that the actor was found pinned between his car, the engine in neutral and still running, and a brick mailbox attached to his home’s security gate, which was at the bottom of a steep incline. While there’s no official cause of death at this time, People reports that Yelchin was found with head and chest injuries.

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Yelchin and his family moved to the United States in 1989 when he was six months old. He began acting at the age of nine and starred opposite Hank Azaria in the television series Huff. However, it was Yelchin’s heartbreaking performance in indie thriller Alpha Dog that earned him critical acclaim. That same year, he starred in the endearing teen comedy Charlie Bartlett.

Paramount Pictures

Yelchin as Chekov in 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness.

He scored the role of young engineer Chekov in 2009’s Star Trek reboot. The third film in the franchise, Star Trek Beyond, will be released in July.

Several of his Star Trek co-stars, including directors J.J. Abrams and Justin Lin, took to social media to pay tribute to their friend and Starship Enterprise comrade.

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— Bad Robot (@bad_robot) June 19, 2016

Still in shock. Rest in peace, Anton. Your passion and enthusiasm will live on with everyone that had the pleasure of knowing you.

— Justin Lin (@trailingjohnson) June 19, 2016

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.

— John Cho (@JohnTheCho) June 19, 2016

Please send your love to Anton's family right now. They need it.

— John Cho (@JohnTheCho) June 19, 2016

I can't believe it , I m fckn hurting bad !

— Karl Urban (@KarlUrban) June 19, 2016

“Our dear friend. Our comrade. Our Anton. One of the most open and intellectually curious people I have ever had the pleasure to know,” Zachary Quinto, who plays Spock in theStar Trek films, wrote on Instagram. “So enormously talented and generous of heart. Wise beyond his years. And gone before his time. All love and strength to his family at this impossible time of grief.”

source : mtvbase