Now it is official: Paul Walker died in a fashion fitting of his claim to fame movie titles: “Fast & Furious“.

Validating our harsh stance on the story which prompted our releasing the crash scene photos showing the charred bodies as a public service announcement, the Porsche carrying “Fast & Furious” star Paul Walker was speeding at more than 100 miles per hour when it crashed in November, killing the actor and a friend, according to the final coroner’s report on the deaths.

The 15-page report released Friday by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office answered several questions that had been the subject of speculation about how Walker and racing team partner Roger Rodas died. Click here for the 15 page report.

The two men apparently did not live long after the high-performance 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, which was traveling at “approximately 100+ mph,” slammed into a light post and tree and burst into flames, the report said.

Walker, who shot to fame as star of the high-octane street racing franchise “Fast & Furious,” was in the passenger seat of the car driven by Rodas.

Actor Paul Walker dies

Walker, 40, and Rodas, 38, left a charity event at a car shop co-owned by the men to take a ride in an office park in the community of Valencia in Santa Clarita, about 30 miles north of Hollywood. The crash happened a few hundred yards away on a wide street.

“For unknown reasons, the driver lost control of the vehicle, and the vehicle partially spun around, and began to travel in a southeast direction,” the coroner’s report said. “The vehicle then struck a sidewalk and the driver’s side of the vehicle struck a tree and then a light post. The force of those collisions caused the vehicle to spin 180 degrees, and it continued to travel in an easterly direction. The passenger side of the vehicle then struck a tree and the vehicle burst into flames.”

The autopsy revealed “scant soot” in Walker’s trachea, suggesting his life ended before the smoke and fire engulfed the car.

The actor’s body was badly burned “and in a pugilistic stance. His right wrist was fractured and his left arm was fractured,” the report said. Rodas was also described as in “a pugilistic” — or defensive — position. This suggests that both men braced for impact, & then never left that position again.

Walker suffered fractures of his left jawbone, collarbone, pelvis, ribs and spine, the report said.

Rodas “rapidly died of severe blunt head, neck and chest trauma,” the report said.

Investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department met with engineers from Porsche to analyze the data-retrieval system in the car’s computer, the department said last month. That system is used to shed light on the car’s speed, throttle opening, air bag deployment, seat belt use and, possibly, other information from the time of the crash.

The coroner’s report did not conclude whether the men were wearing seat belts.

Walker’s death came during a Thanksgiving break in filming of “Fast and Furious 7,” forcing a halt in the production. Universal Studios announced last month hat the movie will be completed using scenes already filmed by Walker, but the release will be delayed from this summer until April 10, 2015. Paul Walker’s scenes will be part of the 7th movie.

4 Responses

  1. The ‘pugilistic’ stance that everyone is reporting on, suggesting that they braced for impact is incorrect. The bodies were found lying supine – on their backs, and the pugilistic state is a stance a human body takes when exposed to extreme heat. As the body burns, the arm muscles contract, causing the arms to lift up. It’s not ever going to be known whether they were aware that they were about to crash, and possibly brace themselves. In my opinion, given that Paul’s sun glasses were found in a tree some distance from the actual crash scene (remember the vile kid that put them on eBay?) they were whipped round so fast that loss of consciousness would have come before any true awareness of the impact about to happen. Rodas’ body was also described in autopsy showing that the skull was severely fractured and brain matter was exposed, so again the force involved I personally feel, denied them both the opportunity to react. For me, this was a blessing for them. Although we know Rodas died on impact as he had not inhaled any smoke, Paul must have been unconscious and dying, as there was only ‘scant’ soot documented. This allows for only a couple of breaths to have been taken. Any longer and the soot would have been profuse in the airways and would have reached the lungs, which was not the case.

  2. Just want to say that being in a pugilistic stance is not because they braced for impact but because of the fire. Most people who die in fires exhibit this trait. It happens because the contracting of the muscles from the fire. The victim appears to be in a boxers stance known as a pugilistic stance.

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