Fast & Furious Actor Paul Walker Dies at 40

The 40-year-old actor died in a fiery car crash on Saturday

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Updated December 1, 2013, 3:42 p.m.

Fast & Furious star Paul Walker died in a car crash on Saturday afternoon. He was 40 years old.

According to Walker’s publicist Ame Van Iden, the actor was a passenger in a friend’s car when the crash occurred in Valencia, just north of Los Angeles. Roger Rodas, a businessman and professional race car driver, was believed to be driving and was also killed, ABC News reports. Walker was in the area after attending a charity event for his nonprofit Reach Out Worldwide to benefit the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, a statement on his Facebook page said.

Police found a Porsche Carrera GT on fire when they responded to a report about the collision. The two passengers were pronounced dead on the scene. The exact cause of the crash was not immediately clear, but investigators said speed was a factor.

Walker’s body was damaged beyond identification in the crash, authorities say. The coroner’s office is working with the family and representatives to obtain dental records to perform the autopsy.

The actor is most known for his role in the Fast & Furious movies, but also starred in The Skulls, Takers and Running Scared. Walker stars in the upcoming film Hours, a drama about Hurricane Katrina, which is set to release on December 13. He was working on Fast & Furious 7 at the time of his death.

“All of us at Universal are heartbroken,” Universal Pictures, which has released the Fast & Furious franchise, said in a statement Saturday. “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.”

He’s survived by his 15-year-old daughter.