The tragedy that shook the world: How the life of a Star Trek star was cut short at 27

Anton Yelchin was only 27 and at the height of his career when a bizarre vehicle accident killed him outside his own home. Friends found the actor’s body on the morning of June 19, 2016, after he failed to show up for a rehearsal.

Yelchin had been trapped between his Jeep Grand Cherokee and a masonry pillar at the bottom of a steep driveway. Emergency workers could only declare him dead. The coroner’s report said he died from traumatic asphyxia caused by blunt-force injuries, probably within a minute of the impact.

The investigation described a frightening sequence. Yelchin briefly left the vehicle while the gear selector remained in neutral. Because of the slope, the nearly 2.5-ton SUV began sliding backward uncontrollably. Yelchin was in its path and had no chance to escape.

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It is against nature for a parent to bury their own child.

The tragedy drew further attention because the model had been included in a major recall. Two months earlier, Fiat Chrysler had recalled 1.1 million vehicles over a gear-shifter problem that confused drivers and had already been linked to hundreds of crashes. Yelchin’s parents, Viktor and Irina, sued the manufacturer. His father said, "It is against nature for a parent to bury their own child." Their lawyer said the official repair notice arrived at Anton’s address seven days after his death and accused the company of putting profit before safety, calling the recall "too little and too late." The family later settled with Fiat Chrysler under confidential terms.

Yelchin left behind acclaimed work in Star Trek and numerous independent films. Colleagues remembered him as a brilliant and curious person. The documentary Love, Antosha also revealed his quiet struggle with cystic fibrosis, a condition he had kept from the public.

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Too little and too late.