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Speed was a factor in the crash that killed actor Paul Walker, 40, and former race car driver Roger Rodas, 38, authorities said late Saturday.
Rodas and Walker were in a 2005 red Porsche Carrera GT Saturday afternoon when Rodas lost control of the supercar on a street in an industrial park in Valencia, Calif. The car slammed into a light pole, hit a tree and exploded on impact, just before 3:30 p.m.
Firefighters with the Los Angeles County Fire Department responded to the scene, but were unable to save either of the two men. Both were declared dead at the scene of the collision, according to county fire dispatch supervisor Kyle Sanford.
“When I went out there, it was just smoke. Just black smoke. I thought it was a brush fire,” said Alyssa Yorton, an employee of Jump 5150, a trampoline park in the building adjacent to the crash site.
Yorton said she called 911, but didn’t realize there was a car beneath the smoke until later.
While the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office has not yet positively identified the two men, statements from those close to the pair confirmed their deaths.
“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,” said a statement on the actor’s Facebook page.
The two were partners in a custom car shop in Santa Clarita, Always Evolving, and had been at a charity event at the business prior to the collision, in support of a winter toy drive.
As investigators worked to understand what led to the crash, dozens of local residents came and went, quietly taking photographs of the nearly-unrecognizable wreckage of the car and the charred sidewalk around the collision.
“We just love Paul Walker. When we first heard, we didn’t know it was in Santa Clarita,” said Marina Reale, who visited the scene with a friend. She said she knew Walker frequented the area because of the shop.
Reale also noted that the area – city streets within a larger office park – was a common place for street racing.
“There’s no traffic, it’s quiet, so it’s common,” she said.
Authorities have called the crash a single-car collision, but have not publicly commented on speculation that the two may have been racing another vehicle.
Fellow actors and friends took to social media soon after the crash to express shock and dismay at the news of the accident.
“Brother, I will miss you very much. Heaven has gained a new angel. Rest in peace,” Vin Diesel said on Twitter. The two starred in several of the “Fast and Furious” movies together, and were filming “Fast and Furious 7” at the time of Walker’s death.
Walker, a Glendale native, also starred in the suspense drama, “Hours,” which is set for release this month.
Walker leaves behind a 15-year-old daughter, Meadow.
Walker began his career as a child model at the age of two, and as a young adult took supporting roles in films including “She’s All That” and “Varsity Blues.”
Universal Pictures, the studio behind the surprise 2001 hit that launched Walker as a leading man and the additional films in the car-racing series, issued a statement after his publicist confirmed Walker’s death.
“All of us at Universal are heartbroken,” Universal Pictures said in a statement. “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.”
