Paul Walker autopsy results revealed

Actor died of ‘traumatic and thermal’ injuries sustained in car crash.

LOS ANGELES: Fast & Furious star Paul Walker may have initially survived a horrific car crash but died moments later due to a combination of injuries from the impact and the resulting fire, according to a coroner’s report. Universal Pictures has suspended production of the seventh instalment of its lucrative car racing film franchise following the tragic death of one of its lead stars.

Walker, 40, was a passenger in a fiery one-car crash on Saturday in Santa Clarita, California, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles, that also killed 38-year-old Roger Rodas, who was driving the vehicle at the time.

The coroner said Walker’s death resulted from “traumatic and thermal injuries.” While the coroner did not elaborate, thermal injuries are heat-related and are commonly known as burns. Toxicology reports on the bodies will be completed in six to eight weeks, the coroner’s office said. The autopsy for Walker is complete, but it has been “placed on security hold.”

Rodas, the owner of a local auto dealership and racing services company Always Evolving and who was behind the wheel of the Porsche Carrera GT at the time of the crash, died of multiple traumatic injuries, the coroner said.

The coroner ruled that both deaths were accidents and said that the injuries occurred when the car struck a fixed object.

Both Walker and Rodas died “within seconds” after impact, coroner spokesman Ed Winter told the Los Angeles Times.

Surveillance video shows the red Porsche crashing into a utility pole and bursting into flames about a minute later, according to footage shown on CNN.

Universal, owned by Comcast Corp, said filming of the big-budget action movie has been put on hold for an unspecified amount of time, as it decides how to continue production without Walker.

“At this time we feel it is our responsibility to shut down production on Fast & Furious 7 for a period of time, so we can assess all options available to move forward with the franchise,” Universal Pictures said in a statement.

‘Right now, all of us at Universal are dedicated to providing support to Paul’s immediate family and our extended Fast & Furious family of cast, crew and filmmakers,’ stated a statement released on Wednesday morning.

The studio has pledged to give a percentage of the proceeds from the home entertainment sales of Fast & Furious 6 to Walker’s charity, Reach Out WorldWide.

The film, which began production in September, is currently scheduled to be released in theatres on July 11, 2014, but it is unlikely it will maintain the summer release date.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2013.

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