Nearly four months after his death in a fiery car crash , investigators have determined that “Fast & Furious” star Paul Walker was killed by excessive speed.
Saying drugs and alcohol and mechanical failure were not a factor, investigators said both Walker and friend Roger Rodas were wearing seat belts and their airbags deployed, but that was not enough to save them from the deadly November accident.
“Investigators determined the cause of the fatal solo-vehicle collision was unsafe speed for the roadway conditions,” Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Commander Mike Parker said Tuesday according to CNN. The souped-up 2005 Porsche Carrera GT they were in was going between 80-93 m.p.h. in an office park with a posted 45 m.p.h. limit. at the time the car hit a power pole and several trees, according to the final report on the incident.
The sheriff’s report confirms the preliminary finding in the coroner’s finding, which estimated that the car — which had an aftermarket exhaust system that could increase the engine’s horsepower — was going around 100 m.p.h. The new report, which consulted experts from Porsche and tire maker Michelin, also found that there were no mechanical failures that would have caused the car to leave the wide road.
It also shot down an early theory that Walker, 40 and race shop owner Rodas were possibly racing another car at the time of the accident. “No eyewitness contacted the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to say there was a second vehicle and there is no evidence to indicate there was a second car involved in the collision,” the report concluded.
A January report from the Los Angeles County coroner’s office concluded that both men died quickly, before smoke and fire overwhelmed them, and that both were badly burned and in defensive positions at the time of death.
Walker had begun filming “Fast & Furious 7” at the time of his death and in addition the scenes he appeared in, it was reported this week that four actors with similar body types will be used to fill out some scenes along with CGI effects that will put his face and voice on top of their bodies.
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