‘Fast & Furious’ film star Paul Walker dies

Actor Paul Walker, who shot to fame as star of the high-octane street racing franchise “Fast & Furious,” died Saturday in a car crash in Southern California. He was 40.

Walker’s publicist Ame van Iden confirmed his death, but said she could not elaborate beyond statements posted on Walker’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts.

Walker was a passenger in a friend’s 2005 Porsche Carrera GT and both were attending a charity event for his organization, Reach Out Worldwide, in the community of Valencia in Santa Clarita, about 30 miles north of Hollywood.

The website for the charity said the Saturday event was intended to benefit victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

Speed was a factor in the crash, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said.

The wreck took place about 3:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. ET), about 300 yards from the office park where the event was held. The speed limit there is 45 mph.