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| Paul Walker |
The 40-year-old Walker was riding in a red Porsche GT about 3:30 p.m. when the sports car flew off the road and slammed into a tree in Santa Clarita, authorities and witnesses said. The car burst into flames.
Los Angeles County coroner officials confirmed the
40-year-old and his friend Roger Rodas died in the Valencia, Calif., crash on Saturday, after their vehicle
smashed into a light pole and tree before exploding into flames.
Investigators are still probing what exactly caused Rodas to
lose control, but have said speed was a factor.According to witnesses, Walker and Rodas had been attending an event for the actor's charitable organization Reach Out Worldwide when they decided to take the car for a brief test drive.
Walker began his small screen career as a toddler, when he
starred in a television commercial for Pampers. He began
modeling at the age of two and began working on television shows in 1985, with
roles in shows such as Highway
to Heaven, Who's the Boss?, The Young and the Restless, and Touched by an Angel. That same year, he
starred in a commercial for Showbiz Pizza.[13]
Walker's film career began in 1986, with the horror/comedy film
Monster in the Closet. He and his sister
Ashlie were contestants on a 1988 episode of the game show I'm
Telling!; they finished in second place. In 1993 he played Brandon
Collins on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless. He and
his co-star Heather Tom, who played Victoria Newman, were nominated
for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a soap opera at the Youth in Film
Awards. In 1998, Walker made his feature film debut in the comedy Meet
the Deedles, which finally gained him fame. This subsequently led to supporting
roles in the movies Pleasantville (1998), Varsity Blues (1999), She's
All That (1999), and The Skulls (2000).
