Paul Walker's Childhood Friend had to be Restrained after Trying to Pull Actor from Burning Porsche
Newton Wilmer was almost a brother to Paul Walker and could have been seriously injured trying to head first into the car blast. He was pulled away from the burning car by a first responder. Wilmer, 37, is a racing engineer and fabricator at Paul Walker's auto shop, Always Evolving in Valencia, California. Wilmer is like family and it's not surprising that he risked his own life to try to save his childhood friend.
Walker, 40 and Rodas, 38 died tragically when a 2005 Prosche Carrera GT driven by Rodas crashed into a tree and light pole a few minutes after they left a charity event. Investigations reveal that speed was one of the causes of the accident.
A picture from the crash scene shows Newton Wilmer being pulled away from the burning wreckage. He would have dived straight for Walker if he had not been restrained. Wilmer was even said to be lucky otherwise he would have died too.
Aside from Newton Wilmer, Paul was also close with Newton's brother, Lucas Wilmer. Lucas is also a fabricator, racing engineer and third partner in Always Evolving. Reports say part of the reason why Paul started the venture, Always Evolving, was because he wanted to have a shop where he could work with all of his friends. Friends, family and fans ask how something like this happen to good guys. They think it's not fair.
Many of the close-knit racing members have been working at Always Evolving through their grief to fulfill promises to customers. It's devastating for the crew but they have to keep going. "It's hard to ponder life in general after you see people die," a source told the Daily News. Some of the crew are scheduled to work at the 2013 U.S. Air Force 25 hours of Thunderhill race, which starts on Dec. 14 in the Napa Valley.
Walker's family has not announced any plans for his funeral service but has asked fans to donate to Paul's disaster relief charity Reach Out World Wide in lieu of flowers. His grief-stricken father, Paul Walker, Sr. was emotional when he talked about asking his son to promise not to do any more "daredevil" stuff. He said Paul promised. He also revealed that his son was often embarrassed and uncomfortable with his fame. "I thought last night, Paul would be so embarrassed of this. And I looked up at the sky, and I said: 'Well, tough luck pal," he added.