Who was Roger Rodas? Remembering Paul Walker crash driver who died alongside the late actor

Paul Walker died in a horrific single-vehicle road crash on November 30, 2013, at the age of 40. This year marks the 12th anniversary of his demise. His daughter, Meadow Rain Walker, paid him a heartfelt tribute on Instagram.

“12 years without you… I love you forever,” the post was captioned alongside a throwback picture of the duo, showing Paul blowing the candles on a cake, as toddler Meadow sat on the kitchen counter.

On the fateful afternoon, Walker left a charity event organized by his nonprofit Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW) in California, raising funds for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. His close friend, Roger Rodas, was driving his red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT, while the Fast & Furious star sat on the passenger seat.

Several minutes after they left, the car lost control and crashed near the Valencia area in Santa Clarita and went into flames almost instantly, killing them both on the scene.

At the time, the coroner’s report concluded that Paul Walker succumbed to “traumatic and thermal” injuries, while the driver lost control of the vehicle due to an “unknown reason.”

Roger Rodas, 38, was a financial planner, and Paul Walker was his client.

In 2014, Meadow Walker received a $10.1 million settlement from the Rodas estate. The news was made public two years later. At the time, the money was put into a trust.

Exploring who Roger Rodas was on Paul Walker’s 12th death anniversary

According to the Merrill Lynch website, Paul Walker met Roger Rodas at a race club in Thunder Hill, California, where the latter was driving a Porsche previously owned by the actor.

On day one, they raced “side by side,” before teaming up with two other drivers as part of a pro-am 25-hour endurance race. Later, they became friends, and Rodas helped Walker reorganize his portfolio.

At the time, El Salvador-born Roger was the managing director of wealth management in Bank of America and was featured on Barron’s list of the country’s top hundred advisors for three consecutive years between 2010 and 2012.

Roger Rodas also owned a racing shop in LA called Always Evolving. The car enthusiast was also the captain of his racing team. He also co-owned Reach Out Worldwide with Paul Walker, which was aimed at helping with the search, rescue, and recovery during natural disasters.

In his hometown, Rodas also owned a nonprofit, which provided financial aid to orphans and widows.

Roger Rodas left behind his wife and two children. The widow filed a lawsuit against Porsche, accusing them of negligence and holding them accountable for the fatal crash. However, she lost the legal battle.

At the time, Meadow Walker’s lawyer, Jeff Milam, shared in a statement with CBS News:

"The amount paid by the estate of Roger Rodas into a trust for Meadow Walker only covers a fraction of what her father would have earned as an international movie star had his life not tragically been cut short."

Milam also shared that his client was suing the luxury car manufacturer as well for her celebrity dad’s death. He added:

"Through his estate, Mr Rodas, the driver of the car, took partial responsibility for the crash. Meadow's lawsuit against Porsche AG -- a $13 billion corporation -- intends to hold the company responsible for producing a vehicle that was defective and caused Paul Walker's death."

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Meadow Walker, 27, is a model and actress who has walked the runway at the Paris and New York fashion weeks. She runs the Paul Walker Foundation, launched in 2015. Her mother, Rebecca Soteros, keeps a low profile and is reportedly a primary school teacher in Hawaii.

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