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Paul Walker death: No final results on autopsies; driver unclear

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Autopsies on “Fast and Furious” star Paul Walker and his friend Roger Rodas, who were killed in a fiery crash Saturday, have been completed but final results are not yet available, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

Examinations have been completed, but the final identification of the bodies will not begin until Tuesday evening, said Craig Harvey of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. It is not yet clear who was driving the 2005 Porsche Carrera GT.

“No results will be released until at the earliest, tomorrow,” he said in an email.

As Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives search for an explanation for the crash, investigators so far have found “no evidence” of a fluid leak from the car at the scene, said sheriff’s Capt. Mike Parker.

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A leak of vital fluids could have pointed to an inability for the driver to control the 605-horsepower 2005 Porsche Carrera GT. Investigators want to retrieve computerized data from the car that would show its performance in the moments before the crash.

Detectives have not determined what caused the crash, which occurred about 3:30 p.m. Saturday on Hercules Street in Santa Clarita, but a preliminary investigation indicates speed was a factor, Parker said.

Just how fast the car was moving remains to be determined. The speed limit on the street is 45 mph.

Friends have told authorities that the high-performance Porsche was not street racing at the time of the crash. And L.A. County sheriff’s officials say eyewitnesses did not see a second car.

A friend of the men, Jim Torp, told reporters at the crash site Monday that the Porsche had already been sold, so the men were not going out to be reckless.

“I’m a good friend of theirs and I’m fighting for them because there’s been a lot of speculation about them drag racing, and that did not happen,” he told reporters.

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He recalled how the tragedy unfolded, starting from the moment when Walker and Rodas slowly pulled out of the driveway as a charity event was winding down.

After they came back around for another pass and went out of sight, he and another car enthusiast listened to the sounds of the Porsche’s exhaust to gauge its speed.

“You could hear the exhaust -- they got on it a little bit -- and I heard two booms,” Torp said.

Smoke was visible from Always Evolving Performance Motors, a shop owned by Rodas that is located around the corner from the crash site.

Actor Vin Diesel, who co-starred in the “Fast and Furious” series with Walker, visited the crash site Monday night, addressing a crowd of mourners using a loudspeaker from a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department car.

“If my brother were here today. And if he saw all the love you were bringing here. If he could see for himself that [you have] shown my brother love ... it’s going to stay with me forever ... showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciated him,” he said.

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Twitter: @lacrimes| Google+

richard.winton@latimes.com

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