Names and faces

Fast & Furious star Paul Walker and friend Roger Rodas were going up to 94 mph in a 45-mph zone in a Porsche with two 9-year-old tires when they lost control, hit a light pole and died immediately when the car burst into flames, according to a new investigation of the November accident. Investigators with the Los Angeles County sheriff’s office and California Highway Patrol concluded that unsafe speed, not mechanical problems, caused the Nov. 30 crash. Based on post crash calculations, accident-reconstruction specialists with the Highway Patrol believe Rodas was driving his 2005 Porsche Carrera GT between 81 mph and 94 mph, the investigative report says. The Highway Patrol declined to comment. The Associated Press reported in December that investigators had found no evidence that the car had mechanical problems and had ruled out debris or other roadway conditions. Subsequently, Porsche sent engineers to California to review the rare car’s wreckage. Though it was mangled and burned, the engineers were able to do a thorough analysis, according to reports. They found no problems with the car’s electrical systems, brakes, throttle, fuel system, steering, suspension or other systems. Rodas, 38, and Walker, 40, had taken what was supposed to be a quick ride on a clear afternoon from a fundraiser benefiting Reach Out Worldwide, a Walker charity that gives first-response aid to victims of natural disasters.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin are separating after more than a decade of marriage, according to a message posted on the actress’s blog Tuesday. Paltrow, 41, and Martin, 37, were married in 2003. They have two children: daughter Apple, 9; and son Moses, 7. “We have been working hard for well over a year, some of it together, some of it separated,to see what might have been possible between us, and we have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate,” read the message titled “Conscious Uncoupling” on Goop.com. It was signed by both Paltrow and Martin, and a spokesman for Martin confirmed the separation. Martin, the Grammy-winning lead vocalist of Coldplay, and Paltrow, who won an Oscar for her performance in Shakespeare in Love, frequently accompanied each other to public events, but they rarely posed together on red carpets.

Front Section, Pages 2 on 03/27/2014

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