2 allegedly stole parts of Porsche after Paul Walker crash

By Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times

Thursday, Dec. 5, 2013 | 8:26 p.m.

LOS ANGELES — One man has been arrested and a second has agreed to surrender after authorities allege they stole parts from the Porsche that crashed in Santa Clarita on Saturday killing “Fast and Furious” star Paul Walker and another man.

The men allegedly stole parts of the vehicle as it was being towed away Saturday evening after the crash, Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Parker said.

No other details were immediately available.

Walker, 40, died Saturday from a combination of traumatic injuries and burns after the Porsche Carrera GT he was riding in crashed into a light pole in Santa Clarita and erupted in flames, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office ruled Wednesday.

Roger Rodas, 38, Walker’s financial adviser and friend, was behind the wheel of the high-performance 2005 Porsche when it crashed. He was killed by the impact alone, a medical examiner concluded.

Since the crash, a fan-driven memorial has taken over the crash site and a massive tribute drive is planned in Walker’s honor. Walker had made enough money that he kept a warehouse full of prized vehicles and later opened a business, Always Evolving, that customized and sold high-performance cars—earning a place in the hearts and minds of car enthusiasts.

The footage in the tribute video is short on dialogue but does feature a line by Vin Diesel’s character, with most of the cast gathered around: “The most important thing in life will be the people in this room, right here, right now.”

When Walker died, the cast of “Fast & Furious 7” was on a brief Thanksgiving break from filming in Atlanta. Universal Pictures on Wednesday officially put the film on hiatus.

“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,” the studio said. “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.”

The studio also announced this week that it would donate a percentage of proceeds from the home entertainment sales of “Fast & Furious 6” to Walker’s charity, Reach Out Worldwide. Walker and Rodas had attended a fundraiser for the nonprofit just before the crash.