Los Angeles (AFP) - Police in the US city where "Fast and Furious" star
Paul Walker died warned fans Monday against "burning rubber" near the
spot where he was killed, as they probed the fatal car crash. They issued the caution after reports of people pulling stunt
maneuvers on the stretch of road in Santa Clarita, northwest of Los
Angeles, where Walker died in a fiery smash on Saturday. A
makeshift shrine has sprung up at the place where Walker was killed when
the red Porsche sports car he was traveling in slammed into a tree and
caught fire. Speed is believed to have been a factor in the
accident, although investigators are also probing the burnt-out wreckage
for evidence of any mechanical problems.
At least one witness has
suggested that 40-year-old Walker and a 38-year-old friend, Roger
Rodas, may have been drag-style racing at the time, according to CNN,
although others have discounted such accounts.
But some fans of
the blockbuster franchise have apparently been paying tribute by pulling
hotrod stunts on the four-lane stretch of road where the accident
occurred.
One maneuver reported was drifting, an illegal technique in which the
driver intentionally oversteers, causing the rear wheels to skid and
making the car slide from side to side.
"We sent deputies to the
accident location this morning after we started getting reports of
drivers burning rubber and spinning tires at the site," said Santa
Clarita sheriff's office spokesman Richard Cohen.
"So far I
haven't had any reports of any drivers being cited or arrested... But we
have deputies there to stop that behavior if it happens again."
The
first "Fast and Furious" movie appeared in 2001. The series, with its
focus on fast cars, tough guys, sexy starlets and exotic locales, is one
of Hollywood's most lucrative global franchises.
Before his "Fast
and Furious" breakthrough Walker was in several 1980s TV shows. He
became a teen heartthrob, appearing in such movies as "Pleasantville"
(1988), "She's All That" and "Varsity Blues" (both 1999).
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