Father of street racing crash victim battles to stop Paul Walker event at COC

Michelle Littlefield's parents, William and Gigi Littlefield, stand next to a photo of their daughter, who was killed in February 2016 in a car crash on Interstate 5 in Commerce. Littlefield was returning from Disneyland with three friends, including Brian Lewandowski, who was also killed in the crash. The two other occupants were seriously injured. Katharine Lotze/Signal
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Santa Clarita man Willy Littlefield is furious over concerns that an upcoming fundraiser promotes street racing, which is believed to have cost his daughter her life.

Organizers say the event is to raise money for the charity started by Paul Walker, star of the “The Fast and the Furious” movie franchise.

Littlefield, who lost his daughter in a triple fatal traffic collision tied to speed racing just over two years ago, is now doing as much as he can to derail an event at College of the Canyons that he believes glorifies street racing.

Crash victims Michelle Littlefield, 19, and Brian Lewandowski, 18.

His daughter,  Michelle Littlefield, 19, and  Brian Lewandowski, 18, both COC students who lived in the SCV and worked at Six Flags Magic Mountain, were killed Feb. 27, 2016.

Dealio Lockhart, 35, of Whittier, is charged with three counts of murder, accused of killing the pair and also killing UPS truck driver Scott Treadway, 52, of Mira Loma.  He is scheduled to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday.

“‘The Fast and the Furious’ (movie) franchise promotes street racing,” Littlefield told The Signal. “This event is something that promotes illegal activity. My daughter wasn’t doing things that causes damage to society.”

And it is for this reason that Littlefield has been in discussion with COC officials in an effort to  stop an event called “In Memory of Paul Car Hangout” slated to take place in the parking lot of COC this Sunday, May 20.

The organizers mentioned that all proceeds raised at the ‘In Memory of Paul Car Hangout’ event are to go to Walker’s charity, Reach Out Worldwide, a nonprofit the actor started in 2010 to aid first-responders who tackle disasters around the world.

“We’re not promoting street racing,” Paul Walker’s brother and event promoter Cody Walker told The Signal Monday.

“The whole thing is in support of and to bring awareness to my brother’s charity,” he said. “In no way are we going to promote street racing.”

The event is in honor of Paul Walker who was killed with his friend Roger Rodas, 38, when the Porsche driven by Rodas smashed into a light pole and tree and then burst into flames Nov. 30, 2013, near Rye Canyon Loop.

“The difficulty I have is that they (COC officials) are promoting an illegal activity,” Littlefield said.

The space at COC, however, is available for people to rent, according to COC officials.

“Because the college is a public agency, its facilities are available for rent by community users, and that is the case with the ‘In Memory of Paul’ event,” COC spokesman Eric Harnish told The Signal.

Fire fighters spray water on the wreckage of a Porsche sports car that crashed into a light pole on Hercules Street near Kelly Johnson Parkway in Valencia in 2013. Dan Watson/Signal

“The organizers rented part of the campus for the day to use for their fundraiser, just as many local organizations do,” Harnish said Friday. “We talked with Mr. Littlefield earlier this week, and we appreciate his perspective and support his right to express his views.”

The event in Paul Walker’s honor runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot on Rockwell Canyon Road, featuring a exotic, classic and imported cars.

Celebrities are expected to be at the event.

For Littlefield, however, celebrities such as Walker’s “Fast and the Furious” co-star Vin Diesel would do better not promoting the “illegal” activity of street racing.

Walker said he understands Littlefield’s concern, “having lost my brother and a friend.”

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