'Fast & Furious' Star Paul Walker Dies in Car Crash

At a time when celebrity death hoaxes are inexplicably all the rage on the Internet, one such hoax has turned out to be rather prescient. TMZ and other outlets have confirmed that Fast & Furious star Paul Walker died on Saturday in a car accident, along with one other passenger. The story was met with much skepticism due to a death hoax begun on Friday when an "R.I.P. Paul Walker" Facebook page was set up and the phony story spread like wildfire. According to TMZ, who have since confirmed Walker's death with one of his reps, the actor was in Santa Clarita for a charity event, and was taking friends out for rides in his new Porsche GT. The unidentified driver lost control and the vehicle hit a tree or post and burst into flames. Walker was only 40 years old.

While Walker will perhaps always be remembered for starring as Brian O'Connor in five of six Fast & Furious movies, he starred in a number of other films early in his career that established him as a popular actor and heartthrob.  For many he first came to notoriety as injured quarterback Lance Harbor in Varsity Blues, quickly following that up with a co-starring turn in She's All That opposite Freddie Prinze Jr. He would go on to star in a couple of other hit movies outside of the F&F franchise, such as the sleeper horror Joy Ride and the blockbuster family comedy, Eight Below. Walker was currently shooting Fast & Furious 7 and it's unclear how the production will proceed.

Obviously, movies don't mean much at a time like this, and we here at Punch Drunk Critics send our condolences to Walker's friends and family for their sudden loss.