Fast & Furious star Paul Walker dies in car crash

AP

The US actor Paul Walker has died in a car crash in Valencia, California. The 40-year-old star of the Fast & Furious movie franchise was a passenger in a red Porsche Carrera GT sports car that hit a lamp post and burst into flames.

Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's department attended the incident north of LA but Paul Walker and the driver of the Porsche were pronounced dead at the scene.

ABC Los Angeles reported that the driver of the car was 38-year-old Roger Rodas, Walker's partner in car customisation company Always Evolving based in Santa Clarita, California. Rodas has previously competed with Walker in the Pirelli World Challenge race series.

A statement on the actor’s Facebook page said: "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 organisation Reach Out Worldwide".

Paul Walker was best known as the star of the Fast & Furious street racing movie franchise. The sixth instalment in the series opened in May and Walker’s most recent project, a thriller called Hours, is due to open this month.

Paul Walker’s Fast and Furious co-stars Vin Diesel and Ludacris expressed their shock and sorrow at the news on social media. Vin Diesel posted a photo of himself and Walker on Instagram with this caption. "Brother I will miss you very much. I am absolutely speechless. Heaven has gained a new Angel. Rest in peace."

Ludacris posted on Twitter. "Your humble spirit was felt from the start," "Wherever you blessed your presence you always left a mark, we were like brothers."

 

By Steve Walker, content editor, MSN Cars