Actor Paul Walker — a self-styled adrenaline junkie best known for his role in “The Fast and the Furious” movies — was killed Saturday in a fiery single-car wreck in Southern California.
The 40-year-old Walker was riding in a red Porsche GT about 3:30 p.m. when the sports car flew off the road and slammed into a tree in Santa Clarita, authorities and witnesses said. The car burst into flames.
“It was engulfed in flames,” said Antonio Holmes, a friend of Walker’s who raced to the scene after hearing about the crash. “There was nothing. They were trapped.”
Holmes said he was among a group of people who showed up at the site with fire extinguishers and tried to rescue Walker and the driver. “We tried. We tried,” he told the Santa Clarita Valley Signal. “Him and his buddy, his brother in arms at heart, just decided to joyride, take a spin. Something we all do.”
Jim Torp, who was also at the event, identified the second victim as Roger Rodas, a pro racer and father of two who owned Always Evolving Performance Motors. Torp described how Rodas’ 8-year-old son tried to save his dad.
“I ran over afterwards, I was trying to find Roger’s son,” Torp said. “I found out his son had jumped the fence and gone over, he was trying to get his dad out. Paul Walker’s best friend was trying to get Paul out of the car while it was still on fire … he was trying to save his friend … there was nothing he could do.”
Torp said friends of the actor and race-car driver were trying to make sense of the horrific crash and its grim parallel to Walker’s movie franchise.
“It’s strange,” Torp said. “(Walker) made his movies. He lived his life and he died fast and furious today. He loved speed, he loved cars, and he had to die this way. He died in a very fast car with his friend.”
Coroner Ed Winters said the bodies were so badly burned they would take days to positively identify.
Walker was in Santa Clarita, about 30 miles north of Los Angeles, for a charity event to benefit his organization Reach Out Worldwide, which sends first responders to the scenes of natural disasters.
The event was held at Rodas’ Always Evolving Performance Motors, just down the street from the accident site on Rye Canyon Loop, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“He was a great guy. His employees loved him,” friend Torp said of Rodas. “Every month Roger did a car show to help people. This was the big one for him, they were trying to help the victims in Indiana and the monsoon (in the Philippines),” Torp said.
Responding deputies found the vehicle “engulfed in flames,” authorities said.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze — and then found the two victims in the charred wreckage. They were pronounced dead at the scene. Police said speed was a factor in the crash.
“Sadly, I must confirm that Paul did pass away this afternoon in a car accident,” said his rep, Ame Van Iden.
“All of us at Universal are heartbroken,” Universal Pictures, the studio behind “The Fast the Furious” franchise, said in a statement following Walker’s death.
“Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the Fast and Furious films, and to countless fans.”
In a grim twist, Walker’s death came just days after he was the victim of an online death hoax. Several celebs and journalists took to Twitter hoping the new reports were another sick joke.
His “Fast and Furious” co-stars bared their heartbreak after his death was confirmed.
“Pablo, I wish you could see the world right now… and the profound impact, your full life has had on it, on Us… on me…” Vin Diesel wrote on Facebook. “I will always love you Brian, as the brother you were… on and off screen.“
“I am so beyond heartbroken right now,” James Wan, director of “Fast & Furious 7,” wrote on Facebook.
Walker, raised a Mormon in the Los Angeles suburb of Sunland-Tujunga, entered show business when he was just a toddler. He scored roles in popular TV shows, including “Highway to Heaven,” and “Who’s the Boss?” His film career took off after he snagged a supporting role in the 1999 hit “Varsity Blues.”
Walker leaves behind a daughter, Meadow, 15. In his last tweet, on Friday, he posted a photo of him, Diesel and co-star Tyrese Gibson. “The boys are back,” read the message hyping the release of the seventh in the “Fast and Furious” franchise. “Will you be ready?”
With Nancy Dillon and Joe Stepansky
On a mobile device? Watch the video from the scene of the accident here.
