Actor Paul Walker, who starred in the Fast and the Furious movie series, has died in a car crash near Los Angeles on Saturday. He was 40.

Walker,who was in five of the six films about illegal street racing and heists, was a passenger in a friend’s car and was attending a charity event, according to a message linked to his Twitter account.

Police officers at the scene found the vehicle engulfed in flames. The victims were pronounced dead at the scene. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department did not provide the identities of the dead, and said the cause was under investigation.

Walker was working on the latest Fast and the Furious film at the time of his death. (Reuters)

‘Rocky’ road to trouble

Police have charged a 20-year-old man with reckless endangerment for allegedly driving his car down the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps made famous by the film Rocky.

Police say 20-year-old Emin Faki told them the brakes on the car failed and he could not stop it. Police had the BMW checked out and filed the criminal charge. The October 24 stunt was recorded by onlookers who posted videos online.

A judge ordered Faki to appear for a preliminary hearing on December 18 – and to stay away from the museum in the meantime. (AP)

‘Speeding gran’ blamed

A man tried to escape a speeding fine by blaming the offence on his grandmother who lived more than 3,000 miles away, could not drive and had never visited the UK.

Dillon Coker, 26, was snapped by a speed camera while doing 51mph on a 40mph stretch of the A127 in Laindon, Essex, in January. He told police he was not driving his VW Polo at the time, saying his grandmother was responsible. But police investigations established that she lived in Sierra Leone and could not have been behind the wheel.

Coker, of Dagenham, admitted perverting the course of justice when he appeared at Basildon Crown Court and was given a six-month jail sentence suspended for 12 months, told to carry out 100 hours of work in the community and ordered to pay £500 in costs, Essex Police said. (PA)