Porsche experts to help detectives probe fatal Paul Walker crash

Porsche engineers will visit L.A. next month to help detectives gather data from the Carrera GT in which actor Paul Walker and his business partner were killed.

L.A. County Sheriff’s Capt. Michael Parker said traffic investigators will meet with engineers from Porsche to analyze the data retrieval system in the car.

An investigation of the crash that killed the “Fast and Furious” actor and Roger Rodas on Nov. 30 in Santa Clarita has reached no conclusions, Parker said.

“Information that might possibly be obtained from the computer is speed, RPMs, throttle opening, air bag deployment, seatbelt use and other possible information,” Parker said Wednesday. “None of these factors has yet been concluded.”

While officials initially said they believed speed was a factor, Parker said, it has not been determined at this time to be the single cause.

“At this point, nothing has been ruled out,” he said. “Although we have no evidence of a second car being involved in the fatal traffic collision.”

Rodas was at the wheel of the 2005 Carrera GT, capable of 60 mph in under four seconds, when the vehicle slammed into a tree and a light pole before bursting into flames on Hercules Street at Kelly Johnson Parkway.

The four-lane road is part of a business park loop in Rye Canyon near a car company Rodas owned with Walker.

Walker died of traumatic and thermal injuries and Rodas of trauma, according to the L.A. County Coroner’s office.

The $400,000 Porsche model had very low clearance and was more difficult to handle than other fast cars designed for the road.

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richard.winton@latimes.com