"Sadly, I must confirm that Paul did pass away this afternoon in a car accident," Ame Van Iden, Walker's publicist, said in an email.
A message linked to Walker's Twitter account, "@RealPaulWalker," said Walker, 40, died as a passenger in a friend's car while attending an event for a charity organization.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in a statement that there had been a car accident involving two fatalities in Valencia, a community in the city of Santa Clarita, at about 3:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. ET).
When deputies arrived, they found the vehicle engulfed in flames. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene, the statement said.
The office did not provide the identities of the dead, and said the cause was under investigation.
(Reporting by Mary Wisniewski)