Paul Walker Accident Explained

**Update 4/10/15: If you like this post, be sure to check out my post on the Importance of Paul Walker.**

Sad news came over the weekend of the death of actor and car enthusiast Paul Walker. He will be missed, and I’m sure many people will want to know exactly what happened.

paulWalker

The circle shows is the exact location of the crash.

Unfortunately, I think this is a pretty open and shut case and we don’t need to wait for a police investigation to find out what happened. Like many other single car accidents involving fast cars, it is clear that Paul and his friend were out pushing the limits of the Carrera GT they were in… And on a public road.

I have looked over the photos of the accident and area on Google Maps and I think I can give a very accurate breakdown of what happened in the split seconds before the crash. The location of the crash can be seen in Google Maps here:  Google Maps

An overview of the accident site

When I first looked at this area, I could see right away that this is a known spot for ‘performance’ driving. This was evident due to the skid marks found on a sharp turn just east of the accident site.

SkidMarks

These skid marks are even clearer from the street view:

SkidMarks2

Paul was traveling in a clockwise direction around this industrial park which forms a circle. I have learned that this area is known locally as the “Hercules Loop” and is a place where kids test their drift skills.

WalkerPathDirection

The turn with the red arrow in the above picture is where the car lost control. It is quite clear from the map that this would be a very high speed turn if pushing a car to the limits of traction. I do not know for sure since I have never driven on this road, but I would estimate that if I was pushing my stock 350z on this road to 10/10ths, I think it would be in the realm of 120mph* (*please see notes about how I got this speed at the bottom of the page). It’s not that my Z is anything special, it’s just that the turn is that fast. If I was in a super-car like the Carrera GT, imagine how much faster I could be going. I believe at the speeds their car was traveling at, the aerodynamics and downforce of the car were coming into effect and were able to push the car to speeds beyond that of any typical sports car. I don’t really want to makes guesses about how fast they were going, but I can say that the equations police use to determine vehicle speed from the crash scene not only don’t apply in this situation, they also don’t apply to a car like this. It should also be mentioned that this turn is a little tricky as it transitions from a shallow left into a lower sweeping right as the road becomes Hercules Street.

The Car

The Carrera GT started its life as an aborted race car project which was resurrected and made into a super-car. This is unlike many typical sports cars (and even not so typical ones) which are clearly designed for the street from the moment of inception. Many cars claim that they have a racing heritage, while the Carrera GT can genuinely claim that it is a race car (or at least were).

The car has been known to be very difficult to handle – this typically doesn’t mean that it’s a bad handling car, but instead that it has snappy oversteer and is hard to reel back in when it loses traction. From what I have seen, the car looks like it has gobs of traction until the moment traction is broken. Jeremy Clarkson famously refers to this condition as ‘blowing your head off’, I sometimes refer to this as a ‘cliff’. These cars are very precise and don’t recover well from sliding, especially if it gets sideways at high speed which causes the ground effects and wing to stop working.

The Accident

We will never know exactly why the car Paul was in lost control, but there are only a few things that could have happened. I always condemn pushing your car to the limits of traction on a public road. Public roads are not like a race track no matter how many times you have driven on it. A race track is a controlled environment where you typically do multiple laps going faster and faster with each lap, a little bit more each time. When people speed on a road, they typically make one fast pass and are done with it for the day. Therefore, you are never ‘warmed-up’ on the street. Furthermore, you can be fairly certain that the conditions of a track do not change with each lap where on a public road, anything is possible.

The road Paul was on was not totally smooth. Unlike roads where I live, the one Paul was on has raised reflectors or bumps (called Botts Dots) to warn drivers they are leaving their lane. These bumps might have been enough to upset the handling of the car when it was at the limit of traction – which doesn’t take much to do, especially on a low car with a tight suspension and stiff sport tires.

reflectors

You don’t want to be cornering across bumps like these…

It is also possible that the car entered the sweeping right with a little too much speed. This is a big problem with this car. With many other types of cars that have a good balance, if this mistake is made, its possible to scrub off the excess speed by putting the car into a slight 4 wheel slide. Typically, this action happens quite naturally, but this seems like a maneuver that could be hard to pull off in this car.

Another situation that is highly likely is that they made it through the turn just fine. But on the way out of it going into the straight, Roger Rodas, the driver, just gave it a little too much gas too early and caused the rear to kick out. This seems very plausible because the car crashed to the inside, where it would be more likely be on the outside if they were going too fast for the corner.

So, it is quite possible that Roger simply over drove the car and had nowhere to recover, or was forced to go over those bumps in the road. If you have ever been on a race track and pushed a car hard, I’m sure you have experienced a time when you puckered up a little when you knew you over did it – I’m sure this happened to Roger…

Most likely, one of these reasons led to the rear of the car losing traction. Once this happened, the nature of the car took over and it went into an off-throttle slow spin or a long uncontrollable slide. Depending on the angle of the car, from the outside, it might have looked fairly uneventful. The angle of the drift might have been so minor that tire marks were not left behind. But from the drivers perspective it was a panic situation. I’m sure Roger felt the back end slide out and naturally turned the wheel to opposite lock.

Unfortunately, the Carrera GT has a very large turning radius which means it has a small amount of steering angle. This is typical of race cars due to the large amounts of caster they have in their suspension and also due to large tires in tight wheel wells. If you talk to any serious drifter, they will tell you how much steering angle matters in keeping a car under control when going sideways. I am positive that this is one of the major factors in why these cars are so hard to recover, but it’s not something that can be easily designed out of a car of this class.

If you watch the old Top Gear review of the CGT and see the scene where The Stig spins the car, this may be close to what happened to Roger. If you take a look at the clip, you will notice how the car, once it starts sliding, nothing can be done. Though, compared to the Stigs drive, Roger and Paul didn’t tie the car up as much due to the corner being much faster. It looks like Roger was doing his best to bring the car back in due to the car crashing almost head on (maybe hitting the curb or light pole straightened the car out), but he just wasn’t able to save it in time. Public streets are a very unforgiving place to make mistakes, and even professional race drivers are known to have accidents. It goes to show that street is a terrible place to push your car.

Paul and Roger, you will be missed by many.

 

*Note on corner speed.

I came up with this speed as a best guess based off of a known corner I take. Below is an image of turn 4 at the autobahn country club which I take at around 65mph or so.

autobahnTurn4

I zoomed Google maps to the same level and then overlaid this image over the ‘Hercules Loop’ turn in question:

cornercompare

You can see how much faster the Hercules Loop curve is compared to the one at Autobahn. I think 120mph might be pretty close to the max speed I could do… But, if you are familiar with this turn in real life and know a more accurate speed, please let me know.

 

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27 Comments to "Paul Walker Accident Explained"

  1. Howard Wiseman's Gravatar Howard Wiseman
    December 6, 2013 - 1:37 pm | Permalink

    Very cogent explanation. Well Done.

    My Read on the Paul Walker and Roger Rodas Carrera GT Fatal (feel free to critique, I am speculating big time):

    I suspect the fatal spin was induced by cold tires, a poorly managed shift (probably into third gear) and enough horsepower to spin tires in third gear. Here is the scenario: While accelerating through the gearbox, the driver feathers throttle, de-clutches and shifts (or toggle shifts from the wheel) causing the GT to unweight its rear-end. Coming off the brakes from the curve only makes this load transfer worse. After shifting into third gear, the clutch engages and overpowers the lightened and cold rear tires, which break grip. As power re-engages to the rear wheels, the dynamic load shifts towards the back of the car and the rear-end becomes susceptible to rotation, especially if grip is already compromised. If the driver lifts off the gas pedal here, an unrecoverable spin is likely. Continuing to accelerate while the car comes unglued is counter-intuitive but Porsche 917 drivers know this is the only way to keep the rear-end from rotating. For all we know, Rodas did everything right once the car lost traction, and just ran out of road. If the skid marks look like a helix, you know they actually spun out.

  2. Ian's Gravatar Ian
    December 6, 2013 - 2:37 pm | Permalink

    Great work, nice reporting. Thanks for this piece- finally an informed oversight of the area and possible scenarios.

  3. shannon's Gravatar shannon
    December 7, 2013 - 5:10 am | Permalink

    Plain and simple…pushed too hard and the car bit back…he unfortunately just ran out of talent.

  4. Irwin Mainway's Gravatar Irwin Mainway
    December 7, 2013 - 2:40 pm | Permalink

    It is very sad, but the driver Rodas’ high end auto business Always Evolving is in that large block, east of the church parking lot, so he must have taken that curve a large number of times. A downloaded similar map shows the crash on “Lap 2”.

    I noticed the wheels are cranked hard right in the wreckage.

    Early stories quoted those at the charity event at the shop: “One attendee of the event, Jim Torp, said he heard the loud sound of a car’s engine revving and then an explosion. Walker and Rodas planned a quick ride, Torp said.
    “The last words Paul said to anybody were, ‘Hey, I’ll be back in five minutes. All right?’ And that was it,” according to Torp.”

    No input on a reason for the crash, and it must be a fluke fire, with this model on the road for 9 years.

    Roger Rodas and Paul Walker co-owned Always Evolving. alwaysevolving.com

  5. Irwin Mainway's Gravatar Irwin Mainway
    December 8, 2013 - 8:49 pm | Permalink

    Here is a shot of the lamppost the Porsche knocked down, along with memorials.
    A section of the hollow concrete post is destroyed.

    http://www.trbimg.com/img-529bba79/turbine/la-me-ln-paul-walker-death-fiery-crash-investi-001/

  6. Chris Rodot's Gravatar Chris Rodot
    December 10, 2013 - 5:45 am | Permalink

    John and Howard,

    You’re both analytical input in this tragedy are great work and level headed.
    You have respected what had occurred without a mono judgment towards Mr Rodas.

    Thanks you for your great work

    Chris Rodot
    Nitro Storm Racing Team Australia

  7. D Roos's Gravatar D Roos
    August 4, 2014 - 12:40 am | Permalink

    We will never know what happened that day but one thing to note is that my daughter takes gymnastics at a builing on that street and we have often seen deer crossing the road at the apex of where they had their last turn. Not saying that is what happened that day, but that would cause a quick turn to the right, turn to the left, and sideways skid off of the road based on the marks I saw there at the accident site the afternoon after the crash.

  8. Karol's Gravatar Karol
    October 25, 2014 - 6:24 am | Permalink

    I miss him so much. I was wainting for another fast and furious, but it will never came out again. I hope he drives fastest cars there in heaven. Miss You bro… RIP

    • December 15, 2014 - 4:09 pm | Permalink

      I miss u so much paul. I still couldn’t believe that u r gone and I’m curious about knowing that what exactly would have happened in that crash. I’m pauls biggest fan. Icant control my tears even after one year whenever I listen something about Paul. And I’m crying while typing this. Luv u paul. U will always remain in my heart

  9. December 15, 2014 - 4:01 pm | Permalink

    I miss u so much paul. I still couldn’t believe that u r gone and I’m curious about knowing that what exactly would have happened in that crash. I’m pauls biggest fan. Icant control my tears even after one year whenever I listen something about Paul. And I’m crying while typing this. Luv u paul. U will always remain inside my heart

  10. December 15, 2014 - 4:04 pm | Permalink

    I miss u so much paul. I still couldn’t believe that u r gone and I’m curious about knowing that what exactly would have happened in that crash. I’m pauls biggest fan. Icant control my tears even after one year whenever I listen something about Paul. And I’m crying while typing this. Luv u paul. U will always remain in my heart

  11. Scott's Gravatar Scott
    April 14, 2015 - 6:10 pm | Permalink

    This is a good article, I was just on google maps I found the location and started wondering what happened, then googled it and seen this. I’m glad there are people out there who are actually interested in finding out what happened during the last moments. I’ve seen a couple pictures of pauls body afterwards, he was basically leaning over Rodgers body with both arms in the air like he was bracing homself for impact, I don’t know if the body would stay in the same position whist being cremated. But it gives you another insight to look at. Maybe after the crash the fire started and he bounced back ( like anyone would do ) with both arms in the air. When you see the picture of the car + bodies, it’s easy to see Rodger died first, his body was crippled under the steering wheel positon, the roof was well gone, if Paul was still alive, he could’ve jumped out unless he had broken bones or was trapped. It’s so annoying because we all want to know what happened and never will. I was completely shocked to find out there were no cameras in view of the actual crash itself. Also if it’s a known spot for drifters, where were the police? Surely they’d keep tabs on this road.

  12. George's Gravatar George
    August 18, 2016 - 8:56 am | Permalink

    #ForPaul !

  13. Zia's Gravatar Zia
    March 28, 2017 - 8:41 pm | Permalink

    It appears car lost traction and tried to skid out as happens on steep turns centrifugal force more than centripetal force, driver tried to correct it by turning steering inward steeply. it brought car back into traction and now car shot like a bullet inwardly with steering angle. It gave driver no time to turn steering out again and bring car out on road. Car drove fast and straight into pole.

  14. Hassan Saleem's Gravatar Hassan Saleem
    July 12, 2017 - 5:40 pm | Permalink

    The explanation is very satisfying. Question, Are we really sure they were drifting. The drifting / tyre marks can be from other cars? as we know these marks don’t go off easily. I am not sure how much distance is from the charity event location and the crash. From the time they left the place, and considering they said to be back in 5 minutes, we can get an idea if they have taken a couple of rounds on that road. I think they did. And there is no point in taking rounds on this road unless you are trying to drift or doing something different in such a speed. Near by building CCTV shows how instantly the tree and the side pole went down in a flash showing ZERO resistance to the car speed. A car never keeps / maintain her lane when drifting, and dissecting lane separating dots and bumps is the most possible reason of making her out of control and off course the Speed played the main role.
    Investigation shows that the impact was so bad that they lost their lives in crash instead of fire. Might be in their last breath when fire erupted. At last, God knows best.
    Thoughts?

  15. alexander's Gravatar alexander
    November 6, 2017 - 12:09 pm | Permalink

    if you think logically why would the biggest movie star put him self in harms risk in real life sou can say it was accident or u can say it was on purpose it goes their way but im 50 50 on both because he was drinking but i dont think he was just pure drunk

  16. Al's Gravatar Al
    February 28, 2018 - 2:55 am | Permalink

    I happened to be passing through Santa Clarita/Valencia so I decided to check out the scene of the crime. (Know, I’ve been driving across Canada & US) Anyway, I will tell you, those reflector lane separation dots are a pain in the arse. I did the requested speed and pulled a u turn at the end of the end of Hercules in my fiat turbo and my car jumped all over the place from the dots. It alarmed me at first as we don’t have them in Canada. What also is a pain and quite sad is that ppl are still using that block for racing. There were tons of skid marks and tire burn marks all athe corner they were approaching. And that road is confusing as eff. When I first turned down it, I couldn’t tell if I was on a one way or not. It’s just a very overwhelming set up and I drive for a living. Also, right past the accident area the speed limit decreases in a hurry to 15 mph. Could he have possibly given himself a bit of a scare trying to slow down which caused him to loose control? (Like have you ever been on the interstate and something alarms you, a person suddenly braking, an animal, and you end up flying into the other lane? That happened to me yesterday due to a careless semi driver and I was going 125 mph scared the shit out of me but thankfully, there was no one in lane beside me which is the only way I didn’t crash. Anyway, I am no expert and just sharing thoughts (thinking aloud) that’s all

  17. Al's Gravatar Al
    February 28, 2018 - 2:56 am | Permalink

    I happened to be passing through Santa Clarita/Valencia so I decided to check out the scene of the crime. (Know, I’ve been driving across Canada & US) Anyway, I will tell you, those reflector lane separation dots are a pain in the arse. I did the requested speed and pulled a u turn at the end of the end of Hercules in my fiat turbo and my car jumped all over the place from the dots. It alarmed me at first as we don’t have them in Canada. What also is a pain and quite sad is that ppl are still using that block for racing. There were tons of skid marks and tire burn marks all athe corner they were approaching. And that road is confusing as eff. When I first turned down it, I couldn’t tell if I was on a one way or not. It’s just a very overwhelming set up and I drive for a living. Also, right past the accident area the speed limit decreases in a hurry to 15 mph. Could he have possibly given himself a bit of a scare trying to slow down which caused him to loose control? (Like have you ever been on the interstate and something alarms you, a person suddenly braking, an animal, and you end up flying into the other lane? That happened to me yesterday due to a careless semi driver and I was going 125 mph scared the shit out of me but thankfully, there was no one in lane beside me which is the only way I didn’t crash. Anyway, I am no expert and just sharing thoughts (thinking aloud) that’s all
    Ps. I entered correct # and it says I spam.

  18. PorscheGirl70's Gravatar PorscheGirl70
    September 16, 2018 - 1:50 am | Permalink

    Actually I wonder still to this day what exactly happened. Roger was deceased BEFORE the last hit to the passenger side of the car. So this makes me believe that after first driver side hit, Paul was steering car from the passenger side which clearly explains the quick steering moments before the car flew off the road. Perhaps this was Paul’s way of trying to stop the car due to the loss of car control? Makes me wonder how the straight skid marks aim directly towards the off road crash, if Roger was actually driving? Also, didn’t Roger just recently recover from another collision not to long before this one? Like a year at most? Either way, they were not alone and had each other. Very sad, may they both RIP ♥️

    • Kimberly Miller's Gravatar Kimberly Miller
      March 28, 2019 - 8:35 am | Permalink

      You all first said it was Paul’s fault, passengers when did passengers be at fault, wow. I was a passenger in a accident, it is so easy to blame someone you are wrong for that. I was t-boned by a drunk driver and he tried to sue me for 10,000 dollars, he killed my unborn child and almost killed me. So was I at fault as a passenger, in my case the drunk driver was at fault. Plus, you say that the car caught on fire then hit the sidewalk, tree and lamp post, then I read that it hit the sidewalk,tree and lamp post. Which is it, I’m just wandering what am I to believe. I am a big fan of Paul and proud of his charity. Please stop blaming Fast and Furious movies. I can only imagine the pain his family is going through even today. He is missed. My son would be his age, he died on July 22, 1973. Paul Walker you are missed, God bless you.

  19. Jeremy Craig's Gravatar Jeremy Craig
    September 13, 2020 - 5:05 am | Permalink

    The deer theory is something that I never thought of and really makes you think. I am very familiar with the loop and what you have to keep in mind is the turn is uphill and levels out around where he lost control. I know both paul and roger have drove the loop multiple times and its just hard to know what we wrong and the truth is we will never. It was a tragedy and hopefully we learn from it.

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