Paul Walker, the actor who starred in “The Fast and the Furious” car racing movie franchise, died in a fiery car crash on Saturday.
According to TMZ, Walker was in Santa Clarita, which is north of Los Angeles, to support the Philippines typhoon relief effort. He was taking friends out for rides in his new Porsche GT when the crash happened.
TMZ says the driver of the Porsche lost control and the car crashed into a tree. The car went up in flames, leaving two dead — Walker and another person in the car. It’s unclear who was driving the car and what led them to lose control of the vehicle.
Walker’s representative later confirmed to multiple news outlets that Walker died in the crash. This note was posted on the official Paul Walker Facebook page:
It is with a truly heavy heart that we must confirm that Paul Walker passed away today in a tragic car accident while attending a charity event for his organization Reach Out Worldwide. He was a passenger in a friend’s car, in which both lost their lives. We appreciate your patience as we too are stunned and saddened beyond belief by this news. Thank you for keeping his family and friends in your prayers during this very difficult time. We will do our best to keep you apprised on where to send condolences. – #TeamPW
The Santa Clarita Valley Signal reported more details about the fatal crash and has some quotes from a friend/witness.
“We all ran around and jumped in cars and grabbed fire extinguishers and immediately went to the vehicle. It was engulfed in flames. There was nothing. They were trapped. Employees, friends of the shop. We tried. We tried. We went through fire extinguishers,” Antonio Holmes, who said he was a friend of Walker’s, told The Signal.
Below is a photo of the red Porsche from the crash:
Friends confirm that it was Paul Walker that died in a wreck in Santa Clarita @myfoxla pic.twitter.com/FtCZP8b9TI
— Kevin Takumi (@KevinTakumi) December 1, 2013
Walker has a relationship with Always Evolving Motors, which is located nearby where the crash occurred. The actor is from Glendale, Calif., not too far from Santa Clarita. He just turned 40 in September.
From starring as Brian O’Conner in “The Fast and the Furious” movies, to playing Lance Harbor in “Varsity Blues” and Dean Sampson in “She’s All That,” Walker was a huge part of the lives of boys and girls who were born in the ’80s and ’90s. Not only did he play some great characters in teen movies, but he also was the crush for a generation of young girls. He was also an MMA Brazilian jiu-jitsu enthusiast.
