The Tragic Accident That Killed 'Star Trek' Actor Anton Yelchin

It has almost been a decade since the 'Star Trek' and 'Green Room' star died tragically.

By Andrew Roberts

Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin tragically died back in 2016 after a freak accident right outside his house. It was a shocking loss, on the heels of his breakout role for Yelchin in Green Room and the third entry in the reboot Star Trek film series, the latter of which was released posthumously.

With close to a decade passing since his death, the accident that caused it raises plenty of questions and paints a picture of his final moments. Yelchin had just stepped out of his Jeep Grand Cherokee in his driveway and was walking to check his mail at the gate. The vehicle then slid back and pinned him against a brick pillar by the gate, killing him. His cause of death was "blunt traumatic asphyxia," according to the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office.

"The victim was on his way to meet his friends for a rehearsal and when he didn't show up, his friends went to his house where they found him deceased by his car," LAPD's Jennifer Houser told CNN at the time. "It appears that he momentarily left his car, leaving it in the driveway. He was behind the vehicle when it rolled backward and pinned him to the brick pillar causing the trauma that led to his death."

Tributes and memorials quickly poured out for the actor, with the creatives behind Star Trek Beyond honoring Yelchin and refusing to recast his role as Pavel Chekov in any future releases.

His death also led to a lawsuit by his family against the makers of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles were aware of an issue with their 2014 and 2015 models leading to rollaway incidents, similar to what took Yelchin's life. Tragically, though the company had recalled the vehicles in April 2016, the software updates didn't reach the dealership until the week Yelchin was killed.

Yelchin's family and the car company reached a confidential settlement out of court in March 2018, putting the loss to rest and allowing them to start moving forward. A bronze statue of Yelchin was erected in Hollywood Forever Cemetery after his death, while the Star Trek family has been paying tribute to Yelchin up to the final season of Picard on Paramount+.

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