Anton Yelchin dead: Star Trek colleagues pay tribute to actor after 'freak accident'

Police said it appeared the 27-year-old actor got trapped by his own car

Yelchin's parents had moved to the US from Russia, where they were ice skaters (AP)

A freak accident.

That how police in Los Angeles described the incident on Sunday morning that killed Anton Yelchin, a 27-year-old actor best known for playing the character Chekov in two Star Trek movies.

Police said that Yeltsin died at around 1am after he apparently stepped out of his car on the steep driveway of his home and it rolled backwards.

Police are investigating the circumstances of the accident (AP)

“The car pinned him against a brick wall and a security fence and that trauma led to his death,” Jenny Houser, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department, told Reuters.

As news of the Russian-born actor’s death spread, people who knew him paid tributes to a man whose parents had moved to the US from Moscow.

“Still in shock. Rest in peace, Anton,” tweeted Justin Lin, who directed Yelchin in his third Star Trek movie. “Your passion and enthusiasm will live on with everyone that had the pleasure of knowing you.”

John Cho, who plays Sulu in the current Star Trek series, said: “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.”

The actor was best known as playing Chekov in the Star Trek movie series, including 2009’s Star Trek, 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness and the upcoming Star Trek Beyond, set to open on July 22.

Yelchin was born in Russia, the son of two figure skaters, and emigrated to the United States as an infant. He also toyed with the idea of a career as a figure skater but decided against such a move. He had appeared in numerous films and was in the TV series Huff.

Hank Azaria, who acted in Huff with Yelchin, said on Twitter that he was devastated by the news of his death. “He was a very sweet kid. My heart goes out to his family.”

Early in his film career as a teenager, Yelchin gained wide attention when he appeared with Anthony Hopkins in the film Hearts in Atlantis in 2001, and with Robin Williams in the House of D in 2004.

Yelchin played Jacob Clarke in the Steven Spielberg miniseries Taken, said the news agency, and also appeared in the films Terminator, Salvation, Charlie Bartlett, Fright Night, Like Crazy, and Only Lovers Left Alive between 2007 and 2013.

“I loved the improvisation part of it the most, because it was a lot like just playing around with stuff. There was something about it that I just felt completely comfortable doing and happy doing,” Yelchin told the AP in 2011 while promoting the romantic drama Like Crazy. He starred opposite Felicity Jones.

“(My father) still wanted me to apply to college and stuff, and I did. But this is what I wanted.”

Yelchin was on his way to meet friends for a rehearsal, police said. When he did not show up, the group came to his home and found him dead.