Deciphering a Death: Paul Walker's Final Moments Play Out Online

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By Brian Anthony Hernandez2013-12-01 22:48:21 UTC

A daughter lost a father, friends lost a loved one and movie fans lost a heartthrob actor when 40-year-old Paul Walker died Saturday after the red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT he was riding in as a passenger crashed and caught fire in Santa Clarita, Calif.

The news of his death, accompanied by photos of his piercing blue eyes, quickly went viral, with some people hoping this was just another celebrity-death hoax. But it wasn't. Walker, who starred in the Fast and Furious films as undercover agent Brian O' Conner, did die.

See also: 'Fast and Furious' Cast Mourns Paul Walker's Death

To grieve, people rallied on social media. On Twitter, "RIPPaulWalker," "Fast & Furious" and "Brian O' Connor" became worldwide trending topics, and remained so well into Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile, his Fast and Furious costars shared memories and condolences on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. Fans on Facebook organized in-person gatherings to pay tribute to Walker. Across social platforms, people quoted lines from his movies.

"A lot has changed," reads one quote, from 2009's Fast & Furious.

And a lot will change as the film franchise, which has earned more than $2.3 billion worldwide since 2001, scrambles to decide the brand's future. Filming for Fast & Furious 7 began in September, but the cast and crew was on break at the time of Walker's death. Will Universal Pictures find a replacement, incorporate his death into the film or do something else?

Universal executives and director James Wan met Sunday to discuss how to move on without Walker. While the movie won't be scrapped, it may be delayed, according to Hollywood Reporter . If its current schedule remains intact, however, the film will arrive in theaters this July.

The film's Facebook page, which has more than 40 million Likes, released a tribute, below, on Sunday. The comment thread, like many comment threads about Walker's passing, is serving as a digital memorial.

An unconfirmed quote, supposedly said by Walker at some point, is also making the rounds. It reads, "If one day the speed kills me, do not cry because I was smiling." Despite knowing whether Walker really said those words, the phrase has been incorporated into photos of him, and shared widely across social media.

Following a death nowadays, social-media users have unprecedented access to official reports and clues to a celebrity's final moments. Law enforcement agencies, coroner's offices, businesses and witnesses are routinely on social media, and together with news reports from trusted media outlets, they offer insight into what might have happened.

Speed was a factor in Walker's fatal accident, which killed two people, according to tweeted reports from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

Walker was the passenger in a red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT reportedly driven by Roger Rodas, his friend and owner of car-customization shop Always Evolving. On Saturday, the Facebook page for Always Evolving posted a photo of this red Porsche, which may be the car that crashed, burst into flames and killed Walker and Rodas. Though it's unclear whether this is the exact car involved in the crash, it is a Porsche Carrera GT and it was at the event.

Prior to the crash, Walker was at an Always Evolving toy drive, where race cars were on display and people were collecting toys for victims of natural disasters. Jim Torp, an attendee at the event, told People that after Walker and Rodas drove away in the Porsche, he heard a loud bang and saw smoke a block away, so people rushed to the scene and saw the vehicle on fire.

Wreckage of fiery crash immediately surfaced across social platforms:

"The scene was chaotic," Torp told People. "There were probably about 20 friends and employees, screaming and crying, who had grabbed fire extinguishers and had been doing what they could to rescue the guys. The fire department and sheriffs had just arrived, as well, and they were trying to secure the scene."

Walker's 15-year-old daughter, Meadow Rain, was also at the toy drive. Rodas was a father of two.

A day after the crash, mourners gathered at the scene of the accident, on the 28300 block of Rye Canyon Loop in Valencia, Santa Clarita Valley. Los Angeles Times reporter James Barragan is using Twitter and Instagram to share live updates from the scene, including an emotional Instagram video of Fast and Furious costar Tyrese Gibson crying as he visited the makeshift memorial for Walker and Rodas.

Rodas and Walker were taking the Porsche for a "joyride before taking it back to warehouse," Barragan heard Torp saying at the scene. Barragan also tweeted, "Walker was happy and joking with ppl at event minutes before his death," according to a witness.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department posted the following report online, which describes the accident. It said the coroner will eventually release the cause of death for both victims:

Sheriff's deputies from Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station responded to a report of a traffic collision at approximately 3:30PM in the 28300 block of Rye Canyon Loop, Valencia, on Saturday, November 30, 2013.

When they arrived, deputies found the vehicle engulfed in flames. The Los Angeles County Fire Department responded, extinguished the fire and subsequently located two victims inside the vehicle. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of the collision is under investigation by traffic investigators with the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The Office of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner will determine the identities and the cause of death of the victims.

If you have any information about the cause of the collision, please call sheriff's traffic investigators at 661-255-1121. Or if you wish to remain anonymous, call “LA Crime Stoppers” by dialing 800-222-TIPS (8477), texting the letters TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or using the website http://lacrimestoppers.org

Representatives managing Walker's Facebook and Twitter accounts posted messages to confirm the actor's death.

TMZ also shared its last known footage of Walker, which was recorded on Sept. 10, below:

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Image: LatinContent/Getty Images

Topics: Deaths, Entertainment, fast and furious, Film, paul walker, U.S.