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

[Perfectlap]

I really hope they release that autopsy for independet review. The fact that the wheels were still attached, (I thought the rear half of the car had broken off) and "the tub" kept the occupants in the car, both were wearing belts and still strapped in, sounds like the impact was severe but not really like a 150+mph top speed collision at race track. Something really doesn't add up in this whole tragedy. An experienced driver, presumably familiar with the location, on a street that wasn't exactly straight, that led into a sharp turn? Something was wrong with that car beyond its inherent nervousness.

Short of either of the decesased sitting exactly where the light pole/tree ripped through the front of the car, this seems like an accident where injuries would be severe but not necessarily fatal. Seeing as how the corpses are at the point of needing dental record recognition I'm curious to hear an independent expert say how the they can claim that the impact itself would have been fatal. There's no debating a fire is always lethal however.

This all makes me think of the Roger Williamson F1 fatality in the early 70's. Those racing cars were not designed to distribute energy sustained by a driver at impact like this CGT and so many modern carbon fiber racing cars today. Williamson crashed heavily at Zandvoort on the high speed esses, was tossed around and around but was conscious and begging for help according to another driver David Purley who ran over, but the fuel tank exploded and engulfed the car in a huge fireball.

p.s.
I can't believe the level of hate in some of thoe article comments. They are swearing up and down with total certainty that this was nothing but 100% driver error. Before release of any of the facts for independent review.
I guess these are the times we live in.

[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.

[RedTele58]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

They are swearing up and down with total certainty that this was nothing but 100% driver error. Before release of any of the facts for independent review.
I guess these are the times we live in.

On a somewhat similar topic, I spent my entire 23 year military career as a USAF aviator. I grew up as the son of a career aviation mechanic who's business was building racing and aerobatic engines. My younger brother died at age 20 in an aviation accident. I grew up around my Dad's clients and friends having died in aviation accidents. I've lost friends in military aviation accidents from the time I was a 2d Lt.

The common thought around almost every accident was "It couldn't have been his fault. There MUST have been something wrong with the airplane. He was simply too good a pilot to let something happen to him, etc, etc."

Throughout my 50+ years around civilian and military aviation I've read countless accident reports, and the common thread in almost all was Pilot Error. The pilot simply let something get away from him or put himself in a predicament/position that was not recoverable. Seldom was the accident the sole fault of the aircraft.

So while yes, it's too early to know the facts of the accident, I know on which side I'd place my money...

With respect,

Rick