RIP Paul Walker - killed in a CGT's passenger seat

[stephen wilson]

Not severe? I don't understand how going THRU a light pole (sideways?), and hard into a tree is not severe. It does appear that the car "broke" in the middle, or just folded around the tree, but the tires/suspension stayed with their respective sections. Entirely believable that even a "pro" could lose it with a twitchy car like that. As mentioned elsewhere, it can bottom out on crowned roads, obviously causing problems at speed. The F1 reference is different, circuits generally don't have concentrated points of contact like a light pole.

[Timco]

My opinion on speed is that at 0-50ish the car will be destroyed and will wrap around smaller objects like that tree. At 60+ I've seen telephone poles sheered off by small vehicles. At 100ish I would think that car would have either sheered off both the pole and tree and ended up many yards beyond the curb or broke in half even more cleanly.

At lower speeds the dead stop of the pole and tree would be more traumatic to passengers and the car....then add two explosions. Hell, the first 'smaller explosion' could have been impact or even a tire popping.