Celebrity Death Thread

[Tony G]

Eyewitness to Paul Walker crash describes gruesome scene

Published December 01, 2013Hollywood Life

• 
  November 30, 2013. Sheriff''s deputies work near the wreckage of a Porsche that crashed into a light pole on Hercules Street near Kelly Johnson Parkway in Valencia, Calif.. A publicist for actor Paul Walker says the star died in the crash north of Los Angeles. (AP)
  

A person who happened to be on the same fateful street that Paul Walker was riding along in Santa Clarita, Calif. — in fact, Paul and one other man, the driver, had passed the witness less than a minute before losing control, spoke to HollywoodLife.com about the gruesome crash.
“We were missed getting hit by them by like 30 seconds,” the eyewitness recalls. The source can’t exactly say why the driver of the car lost control, though he does confirm that the crash was extremely violent and explosive.
“The car burst into flames immediately and split a tree in half,” the eyewitness says, adding that there seemed to be no stopping the fire that broke out. “The flames were way too big and fast-moving.”
“They couldn’t do anything,” he says, in reference to Paul and the other passenger.

Pictures from the scene of the accident also make that evident. The Porsche Paul was in was reduced to mere rubble after the fire was finally extinguished. And if the impact of the crash didn’t take Paul’s life, the explosion and fire that followed did.

[Tony G]

Investigators are looking into whether speed played a role in the accident Saturday in Santa Clarita that left "The Fast and The Furious" actor Paul Walker dead.
The single-vehicle crash occurred about 3:30 p.m. in the 28300 block of Rye Canyon Loop. Deputies from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station and the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived to find a vehicle engulfed in flames. Two people in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, said Sheriff’s Deputy Kim Manatt. Few details about how the crash occurred were available.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-paul-walker-death-speed-may-have-been-factor-in-fatal-crash-20131130,0,4374700.story#ixzz2mF7SmnmD

[DanO]

WOW!!!

[Desert Lion]

Just from my little knowledge from my accident investigation days, Assuming the top of the pic is north, if he was driving fast going into a sweeping right hand turn, he made have gotten a little wide in the turn and got into the other lane then over corrected back to the right. I read where it said the skid marks were nearly straight in and up to the curd. Unless he loss his steering coming out of the curve and the wheel stuck to the right, really hard to tell what could have happened. Will come out soon though.

RIP Paul.

[Newbomb Turk]

speculation is he lost the steering........ fluid all over the road.

[Tony G]

a lot of specualtion. Racing another car, donuts (tire marks) at the scene from a smaller tire than on the porsche. Couldn't ID the bodies except by dental records so they don't know for sure who was driving.

[bimmer84]

More speculation

Police warn over stunts at 'Fast and Furious' crash spot


Los Angeles (AFP) - Police in the US city where "Fast and Furious" star Paul Walker died warned fans Monday against "burning rubber" near the spot where he was killed, as they probed the fatal car crash.


A makeshift shrine has sprung up at the place where Walker was killed when the red Porsche sports car he was traveling in slammed into a tree and caught fire.

Speed is believed to have been a factor in the accident, although investigators are also probing the burnt-out wreckage for evidence of any mechanical problems.

At least one witness has suggested that 40-year-old Walker and a 38-year-old friend, Roger Rodas, may have been drag-style racing at the time, according to CNN, although others have discounted such accounts.

But some fans of the blockbuster franchise have apparently been paying tribute by pulling hotrod stunts on the four-lane stretch of road where the accident occurred.

Paul Walker on FatherhoodPlay video."Paul Walker on Fatherhood
One maneuver reported was drifting, an illegal technique in which the driver intentionally oversteers, causing the rear wheels to skid and making the car slide from side to side.

"We sent deputies to the accident location this morning after we started getting reports of drivers burning rubber and spinning tires at the site," said Santa Clarita sheriff's office spokesman Richard Cohen.

"So far I haven't had any reports of any drivers being cited or arrested... But we have deputies there to stop that behavior if it happens again."

The first "Fast and Furious" movie appeared in 2001. The series, with its focus on fast cars, tough guys, sexy starlets and exotic locales, is one of Hollywood's most lucrative global franchises.

Before his "Fast and Furious" breakthrough Walker was in several 1980s TV shows. He became a teen heartthrob, appearing in such movies as "Pleasantville" (1988), "She's All That" and "Varsity Blues" (both 1999).

[bimmer84]

Officials: Walker crash not part of street race
Associated Press By JUSTIN PRITCHARD


LOS ANGELES (AP) ? While the neighborhood where "Fast & Furious" star Paul Walker died in a fiery crash is known to attract street racers, law enforcement officials do not believe the Porsche he and a friend were riding in had been racing another car.

Accident investigators "have received eyewitness statements that the car involved was traveling alone at a high rate of speed," the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement Monday. "No eyewitness has contacted the (department) to say there was a second vehicle."

Walker and his friend and fellow fast-car enthusiast Roger Rodas died Saturday when Rodas' 2005 Porsche Carrera GT smashed into a light pole and tree, then exploded in flames. The posted limit was 45 mph.

The two had taken what was expected to be a brief drive away from a charity fundraiser and toy drive at Rodas' custom car shop in the Southern California community of Valencia, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Walker's publicist said the action star was the passenger.

The crash happened on a street that forms an approximately 1-mile loop amid industrial office parks. It is rimmed by hills and relatively isolated from traffic, especially on weekends when the businesses are closed.

"It's well-known out here that that's a hot spot for street racers," California Highway Patrol Sgt. Rick Miler said.

Skid marks are a testament to past antics on the loop. The sheriff's department, which polices the neighborhood, said Saturday's wreck was not the first speed-related crash there, but would not reveal specifics.

Meanwhile, investigators are consulting video from security cameras, talking to witnesses and analyzing physical evidence such as on-board computer data from the Porsche.

A steady stream of fans has flocked to the crash site to leave flowers, candles and memorabilia from the action films.

On Monday night, a private memorial for survivors and the cast and crew of the "Fast & Furious" movies was held inside a white tent erected around the crash site. When it was over, Walker's co-star Vin Diesel emerged to thank fans for paying their respect to the actor.


"Thank you for coming and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciated him," Diesel said to the crowd, using the bullhorn of a police cruiser.

Officials have not named either person found in the car. The bodies were so badly burned by the fire that engulfed the wreck that dental records will be needed to confirm their identities.

Walker and Rodas had bonded over their shared love of fast cars.

Rodas, 38, and Walker, 40, co-owned an auto racing team named after Rodas' shop, Always Evolving. Rodas was a financial adviser as well as a professional driver who competed in 10 Pirelli World Challenge GTS races in 2013. He finished second in rookie of the year standings, circuit spokesman Dave Drimmie said.

Walker starred in all but one of the six "Fast & Furious" blockbusters. He had been on break from shooting the latest installment; Universal Pictures has not said what it plans to do with "Fast & Furious 7," currently slated for a July release.

[Tony G]

physics can be a real bitch

[Topweasel]

physics can be a real bitch

On top of it the CGT is like a last of the old generation of hyper cars. Supposedly even at pedestrian speeds the car is super twitchy. Even Leno spun one on track and that guy has driven tons of exotics, super cars, and Hypercars.

Here both Rodas and Walker have had extensive experience high performance racing cars. Walker did mostly time attack stuff, though I happened to catch my dad watching an endurance race that he was participating in. Rodas was in some pretty high end professional racing series.

The CGT is the the Busa's of cars. Fantastically specced, super fast, but end up scaring the crap out of so many people. Several big names have sold theirs after putting less than 1k on them because it scares the shit out of them.

Not that I agree with any super spirited driving on a street like that, but if you have to do it. They choose the wrong car to do it in.

[Tony G]

That's by no means a new occurance for Porsche. When the 930 came out it had some characteristics that made it easy for less than skilled drivers to convert it in to a ball of metal. Turbo lag, large amounts of power when it does come in and all in a rear engined car are bad combinations. Trailing throttle oversteer is nasty at the limits and that car could exceed them easily.

[Marko69]

I have personally never saw any Fast & Furious movies so I won't judge them......, but could any of these films be responsible for the increasing number of teenage morons on the roads?

[Newbomb Turk]

no

[Marko69]

Fk sake, I've no got all day...... Can you summarise that by any chance?

I sense another no.

[Topweasel]

Fk sake, I've no got all day...... Can you summarise that by any chance?

I sense another no.

People driving stupid fast doing stupid things in a car has been a part of movies for decades.

This biggest problem with morons on the road is the lack of attention to their driving. Whether it be a phone call, sending a text, or just plain zoning out.

I would actually think that I would rather have people attempting to drive fast and aggressive would be better for the most part because at least going 120 down the highway they would pay more attention to the road.

It would be like saying Violence in movies is the reason we have people killing people.