The Tragic Fatal Overdose of Evan Ellingson, Actor of “My Sister’s Keeper,” Revealed

The cause of Evan Ellingson’s death was determined to be an accident.

The 35-year-old actor’s body was discovered in his Fontana, California, bedroom on Sunday, November 5. He was a famous child star who had roles in films including My Sister’s Keeper (2009) and CSI: Miami.

On Monday, November 6th, an autopsy was set to take place. Since Tuesday, Nov. 28, the coroner’s office of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department has recorded Ellingson’s cause of death as An Accident.

According to a representative from the coroner’s office who talked with PEOPLE, the death was caused by an accidental overdose of fentanyl.

Ellingson’s father reportedly told TMZ that his son died at a sober-living facility after a long battle with addiction.

In more than a decade, Ellingson has been absent from screen time. In My Sister’s Keeper, he portrayed the son of characters played by Cameron Diaz and Jason Patric, and in CSI: Miami, he was the son of Lt. Horatio Caine, played by David Caruso.

On top of that, he portrayed the nephew of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) on 24 and was a regular on Complete Savages (2004–2005).

Actress Abigail Breslin, who played Ellingson’s sister in the film My Sister’s Keeper, remembered him on Instagram as “a kind, funny and extremely talented human being.”

“Evan was a genuinely thoughtful person who cared so much about turning in the best performance, which he accomplished,” according to her. I still get the shivers thinking about some of his sequences in MSK. In addition to being full of life and energy, he was also goofy, humorous, pranksterish, and a fan of Red Bull (which I despised), among other things.

“I didn’t keep in touch a lot with him after the film, but he always stayed in my mind as a wonderful and sweet soul, one I am grateful to have crossed paths with,” expressed 27-year-old Breslin. During this trying time, my thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones.

According to his IMDb page, the actor grew up in La Verne, California, among three siblings. The skater “discovered at a skate park and was asked to not only skate for the Vans PeeWee team, but to do a commercial for the Vans Company.”

According to his bio, Ellingson’s “unmistakable charisma and talent” attracted casting directors, who “asked him to do a trilogy of short films playing a character that was written specifically for him,” leading to other gigs.

“I never had the same [childhood] experience with my friends,” he said in a 2009 interview. We never had enough time together. Nonetheless, I had a very awesome childhood. Doing what makes me happy kept me occupied. I discovered my love for performing at a young age, so I don’t have any regrets.