A Richmond teen has organized a car cruise in tribute of the late actor Paul Walker, with all proceeds going to Typhoon Haiyan relief.
18-year-old Lorenzo Garcia of Autoform Performance got the idea for the cruise after watching the latest Fast and Furious 6 film one day before the star, Paul Walker, was killed in a fiery car crash last Saturday in Santa Clarita, California.
“I was in shock, as everyone else is, I had just watched the latest Fast and Furious movie on iTunes, Fast and Furious 6, and then the next day, the main actor passed away, and it was also in car,” says Garcia.
Walker was 40 years old and leaves behind a 15-year-old daughter, Meadow.
He says several people contacted him after Walker’s death, asking him about hosting a car event in Walker’s name, with proceeds going to typhoon relief in the Philippines.
Walker himself was on the way back from a car show put on by his charity Reach Out Worldwide when the crash occurred. Money raised from the event went to typhoon relief.
Garcia created a Facebook event for the cruise, and within days, hundreds of people had signed up.
“Within three or four days we got 500 people attending, plus 250 people possibly attending,” says Garcia. “We are going to have 175 vehicles in the cruise — everything from exotics, luxury, to imports. There will be Audi R8s, Maseratis, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and more.”
Garcia says every participant will be asked to donate at least $5, will all of the money going to the Canadian Red Cross.
He has a personal connection to the Philippines as both of his parents were born there. Garcia says he wants to do what he can to help out.
“I’ve always wanted to do something to help. To do something like this, connecting cars and a fundraiser, works really well.”
The cruise will leave from SilverCity Riverport in Richmond on Saturday and travel to Porteau Cove or the overflow parking lot at Cypress Mountain, depending on how many participants there are and the weather conditions.
The day wrapped up with a viewing of the first Fast and Furious film at Autoform Performance in Vancouver.
In an ironic twist, there was an accident after drivers left SilverCity. No one appeared to be seriously injured, but Richmond Fire responded to the scene. Three vehicles appeared to be involved.
For more information, visit the Facebook event.
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