LOS ANGELES — Anton Yelchin, a rising actor best known for playing Chekov in the new “Star Trek” films, was killed by his own car as it rolled down his driveway, police and his publicist said.

The car pinned Yelchin, 27, against a brick mailbox pillar and a security fence at his home in Los Angeles, Officer Jenny Hosier said. He had gotten out of the vehicle momentarily, but police did not say why he was behind it when it started rolling.

Yelchin was on his way to meet friends for a rehearsal, Hosier said. When he didn’t show up, the group came to his home and found him dead early Sunday.

The freak accident tragically cuts short the promising career of an actor whom audiences were still getting to know and who had great artistic ambition. “Star Trek Beyond,” the third film in the rebooted series, comes out in July.

Director J.J. Abrams, who cast Yelchin in the franchise, wrote in a statement that he was “brilliant … kind … funny as hell, and supremely talented.”

His death was felt throughout the industry.

“What a rare and beautiful soul with his unstoppable passion for life,” Jodie Foster said. “He was equal parts serious thinker and the most fun little brother you could ever dream of.”

Yelchin co-starred in Foster’s 2011 film “The Beaver.”