Paul Walker has died. The 40-year-old actor best known for his starring role in the Fast and Furious franchise died in what appears to have been a fiery single-car crash in Southern California on Saturday, according to TMZ, which was the first to report the news. Variety confirmed the actor’s death with “a source close to the actor” and the news was later confirmed in Walker’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Walker “was a passenger in a friend’s car, in which both lost their lives,” according to the statement posted in the actor’s Facebook page. TMZ reports that the actor was in a Porsche with someone else when the unidentified driver apparently lost control of the car and crashed into “a post or a tree,” at which point the car “burst into flames.” The Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s department confirmed in a statement to Us Weekly that two people died in a single-car accident Saturday afternoon and that the vehicle was engulfed in flames when officials arrived.
Walker, was in Santa Clarita, north of Los Angeles, for a charity event for his organization Reach Out Worldwide. Walker was filming the seventh film in the Fast and the Furious Franchise, recently tweeting out a picture to fans:
Walker was in all but one of the Fast and the Furious movies and is also known for his role in Varsity Blues, Pleasantville, Flags of Our Fathers, and Takers. He got his start acting as teenager in a number of TV series, including Who’s the Boss and Charles in Charge, according to his IMDb profile. Walker was “a highly sought-after leading man in action and indie dramas,” according to Variety, which points out that he is in several features now awaiting release, including Brick Mansions, Vehicle 19, and Hours.
