“Fast And Furious” Star Paul Walker Dies In Car Accident Paul Walker’s team has confirmed that the 40-year-old and another person died in the California crash. Walker had attended a charity event to raise money for relief efforts in the Philippines.

Paul Walker, an actor best known for his role as Brian O’Conner in the Fast & Furious franchise, died Saturday afternoon in Santa Clarita, Calif., TMZ first reported.

 The actor’s team confirmed the reports on his official Twitter and Facebook pages shortly after 10 p.m. ET.

The 40-year old-actor died around 3:30 p.m. PT in a single car accident that resulted in a fiery explosion, according to TMZ.

The accident happened in Santa Clarita, just north of Los Angeles.

Dan Watson, The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP

The actor was riding in a Porsche GT when the driver somehow lost control and slammed into a post or a tree and then the car burst into flames. Both passengers were killed.

Dan Watson, The Santa Clarita Valley Signal via AP

The Los Angeles County sheriff’s office said speed was a factor in the crash, according to CNN.

 Dave Stewart@d_stewCNN Follow

Speed was a factor in the car crash that killed actor Paul Walker, the Los Angeles County sheriff's office said.

Reply Retweet Favorite

According to TMZ, Walker was in Santa Clarita for a car show for the charity Reach Out Worldwide, which was raising money for the Philippines typhoon relief effort.

Universal Studios issued a statement at 10:40 p.m. ET.

"All of us at Universal are heartbroken. Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the FAST AND FURIOUS films, and to countless fans. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul's family."

Police also released a statement about the accident, People reported.

"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."

A spokesman at the Santa Clarita police station would not identify the victims, telling BuzzFeed the bodies had yet to be identified by the coroner. He could also not confirm whether the car had hit a pole or a tree.

Antonio Holmes, who identified himself as a friend of Walker’s, described the scene to the Santa Clarita Valley Signal:

"Him and his buddy, his brother in arms at heart just decided to joyride, take a spin. Something we all do. We're all car enthusiasts.... We're all here driving, enjoying each other, and God must've needed help."

"We all heard from our location (the accident). It's a little difficult to know what it was. Someone called it in and said it was a vehicle fire.

"We all ran around and jumped in cars and grabbed fire extinguishers and immediately went to the vehicle. It was engulfed in flames. There was nothing. They were trapped. Employees, friends of the shop. We tried. We tried. We went through fire extinguishers."

From left: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Vin Diesel, and Paul Walker in Fast & Furious 6.

Giles Keyte / Universal Pictures

A southern California native, Walker began working as an actor as a teenager, appearing on several TV series, including Highway to Heaven, Who’s the Boss?, and Charles in Charge.

After a breakout roles in 1998's Pleasantville and 1999's Varsity Blues, Walker starred alongside Vin Diesel in 2001's The Fast and the Furious. Seen at the time as a fun B-movie, the film became a cult hit, and spawned a highly lucrative franchise, with six films to date.

Walker has appeared in all but one of those films, and had been shooting Fast & Furious 7 with director James Wan for next summer.

He is survived by his 15-year-old daughter, Meadow.