Paul Walker death: Vin Diesel visits crash site, addresses fans

Vin Diesel, the face of “The Fast and the Furious� franchise, visited the scene of his costar Paul Walker’s death on Monday night, offering words of comfort to the fans gathered in the dark in Santa Clarita.

The deep-voiced Diesel used the public address system on one of the sheriff’s cars at the crash scene to address the crowd assembled at the makeshift memorial.

“If he could see for himself that all of you have showed up to show my brother love at this hard time, and his family gets to see all of you show the love that you’ve shown Paul, it’s going to stay with me forever,� Diesel said. “I just wanted to say thank you, thank you for coming down here and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciated him.�

His words were met with a round of cheers.

Diesel also posted a photo of himself with a smiling Walker on Facebook on Monday night, quoting the poet Thomas Campbell: “To live in the hearts we leave behind, is not to die.�

“Pablo,� Diesel wrote, “I wish you could see the world right now... and the profound impact, your full life has had on it, on Us... on me...

“I will always love you Brian,� he said, referring to Walker’s “Fast� character, “as the brother you were... on and off screen.�

Sheriff’s investigators were still looking into the crash that killed Walker, 40, and driver Roger Rodas, 38, on Saturday afternoon. Despite early speculation that racing might have played a part in the wreck of the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, witnesses told authorities they saw only a “single speeding car,� L.A. Now reported.

Surveillance video that showed the moment of impact and the plume of smoke afterward supports the single-car scenario.

The two friends, also business partners, had gone for a spin while a charity event they’d attended was winding down. The Porsche they took was described by the manufacturer, in a memo obtained by TMZ, as “as close to a racecar as we will ever get. This car has all the disadvantages of a racecar.�

Such disadvantages included a special sensitivity to the smoothness of the road surface, the site noted.

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