Statue of 'Star Trek' actor killed by own car unveiled at Hollywood cemetery

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Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Statue of Anton Yelchin unveiled at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
A special tribute was held for the late actor Anton Yelchin at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

LOS ANGELES -- A statue of Anton Yelchin was unveiled at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in a service honoring the late actor's life.

In a special tribute to Yelchin, friends, family and colleagues attended the unveiling of the memorial statue this weekend.

The statue was placed in the "Garden of Legends" section of the historic cemetery. A mural of Yelchin created by fans at a "Star Trek" convention was also on display at the service.

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The actor's parents set up the Anton Yelchin Foundation to help young artists who face disease or disability.

"We brought Anton to Hollywood Forever so he would be surrounded by the people who he admired and to be in the middle of the city that he loved so much," Anton's mother Irina Yelchin said.

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Yelchin was most known for his character "Chekov" in the "Star Trek" film franchise. Co-star Zoe Saldana attended the statue unveiling ceremony.

"It really alleviates my heart to know that we're going to keep him alive. We're going to keep all that he was full of, which was life," Saldana said. "We're going to keep remembering that in hopes that by practicing all the things that he believed in and remembering all the love that he gave us and the joy that he gave us."

Other celebrity guests included Simon Pegg, Jennifer Lawrence, Emile Hirsch and Jon Voight, and directors J.J. Abrams, Drake Doremus and Jeremy Saulnier.

Yelchin was killed last year in June at age 27 when his SUV rolled down the driveway of his Studio City home and pinned him against a wall, despite the vehicle appearing to be in park.

The bronze statue is now open for public viewing. It was created by sculptor Nick Marra and FX artist Greg Nicotero.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.