Paul Walker Dead Following Lethal Car Crash in Los Angeles

"Fast and the Furious" actor Paul Walker died at the age of 40 on Saturday afternoon following a car collision and explosion in Southern California along with another person who was driving the car, according to reports.

Paul Walker was a passenger in his friends Porsche Carrera GT car and they were on their way to charity event for his organization, Reach Out Worldwide, in the community of Valencia in Santa Clarita, about 30 miles north of Hollywood. The car got into an accident, although no specific details were given as to how this occurred, only that it soon caught on fire and two people were found in the car were pronounced dead at the scene. However, the  Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office told CNN that speed was involved in the accident.

Walker began acting in 1990 in movies such as Meet the Deedles, Pleasantville,She's All That, Varsity Blues and The Skulls.

His breakout role came in 2001's Fast & Furious, which first teamed him with Diesel.Fast & Furious 7 (due out July 11) is the latest in the franchise. Walker was scheduled to return to the Atlanta set next week and wrap the film Dec. 14 after visiting his daughter Meadow, 15, and friends over a Thanksgiving break.

Statements were posted on Walker's official Twitter and Facebook accounts confirming the accident.

"All of us at Universal are heartbroken," Universal Pictures, which has released the "Fast & Furious" franchise, said in a statement. "Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the 'Fast and Furious' films, and to countless fans."

His "Fast & Furious" co-star Vin Diesel posted a photograph of him and Walker arm-in-arm on Instagram with the message: "Brother I will miss you very much. I am absolutely speechless."