Speed a factor in fatal Walker crash

Speed was a factor in the car crash that killed Fast and Furious star Paul Walker and his friend Roger Rodas, the Los Angeles County sheriff’s department says.

Walker and Rodas – who owned a sports car dealership that Walker had a stake in – were killed after the red Porsche Carrera GT they were travelling hit a light pole and tree and burst into flames.

According to the Daily Mail, the road near the crash site was filled with burned rubber and doughnut marks, as though somebody smoked their tires in figure-eight patterns.

"I don’t know if the marks in the road are related to the crash," said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Brian Allen.

According to the county coroner, the bodies were so badly burned that they are "not visually identifiable", and dental records have been requested for both victims. Autopsies have been delayed until later this week.

Meanwhile, the sequence of events leading up to Walker’s death aged 40 has been unveiled.

According to TMZ, Walker arrived at Always Evolving just as one of Rodas’ employees was trying in vain to back the Carrera GT into the shop. After the vehicle kept stalling, Rodas told the employee to get out and let him do it himself, which is when Walker arrived and said he hadn’t had a ride in the Carrera yet and jumped in the passenger seat.

The pair went on a short drive, the website reports, and were involved in the fatal accident on the way back, less than 500m away from Rodas’ shop.

Rodas’ eight-year-old son was one of the first on the scene of the accident, and tried in vain to pull his father from the inferno.

The Daily Mail quotes eyewitness Jim Torp as saying: "His son had jumped the fence and gone over, he was trying to get his dad out.

"There was nothing he could do."

Walker’s best friend from childhood, Nute, was also among the first people to arrive, and grabbed a fire extinguisher and tried to extinguish the flames, even though it appeared that both men were already dead.

According to TMZ, when the fire department arrived, they tried to pull Nute away – who punched a firefighter. The gossip site reports that Nute and several of Walker’s friends were placed in custody, but were released when officials realised the circumstances.

Friends of the star told a local newspaper that they went through fire extinguishers in a futile bid to fight the blaze.

Antonio Holmes told the Santa Clarita Signal: "We all ran around and jumped in cars and grabbed fire extinguishers and immediately went to the vehicle. It was engulfed in flames. There was nothing.

"They were trapped. Employees, friends of the shop. We tried. We tried."

Holmes said: ‘Him and his buddy, his brother in arms at heart just decided to joyride, take a spin. Something we all do. We’re all car enthusiasts…

"We’re all here driving, enjoying each other, and God must’ve needed help.

"When we saw Paul and Roger leave, Paul was the passenger in the vehicle. They both were experienced drivers."

‘This was just a tragic accident that happened on a joyride,’ said Torp.

Walker is survived by his 15-year-old daughter Meadow, and his girlfriend of seven years, 23-year-old Jasmine Pilchard-Gosnell.