Over a decade ago, Paul Walker, the star of the “Fast & Furious” movie series, died next to his friend, Roger W. Rodas, who was at the wheel of a sports car that crashed and burned in Santa Clarita.
Best known for his role as Brian O’Conner in the “Fast & Furious” franchise, Walker, 40, was killed Nov. 30, 2013, when the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT the two spun out of control and struck a curb in Valencia.
“Rodas was driving a red Porsche Carrera GT at an unsafe speed, approximately 100+ mph, in the No. 1 eastbound lane on Hercules Streetapproaching Constitution,” according to the Coroner’s report.
Walker was in Santa Clarita for a Reach Out WorldWide fundraising event for the international nonprofit he established in 2010 to aid first responders during natural disasters.
“For unknown reasons, the driver lost control of his vehicle, and the vehicle partially spun around, and began traveling in a southeast direction,” the report read. “The vehicle then struck a curb, and the driver’s side of the vehicle struck a tree and then a light post.”
The force of the collision spun the car around again, causing the passenger’s side of the car to strike a tree before bursting into flames, according to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station, who were the investigators first on the scene.
Walker’s daughter Meadow, now 26, was 15 when her father was killed just two days after Thanksgiving in Santa Clarita.
An actor since 1985, Walker gained a reputation as a teen heartthrob after appearing in movies like “Varsity Blues” and “She’s All That” in 1999.
However, it wasn’t until 2001 when he was cast as undercover cop and street racer Brian O’Connor in “The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise, that he would become internationally known.
Walker was in the middle of filming “Fast & Furious 7” when he was killed in the fiery Santa Clarita crash.
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