RIP

Rapper The Game is raising money to pay for the funeral of a 7-year-old boy killed during a shooting in L.A. this week -- a crime that's suspected to be gang-related -- and the irony ... Game tells TMZ, he's getting financial help from the city's top gang leaders.

Game called in to "TMZ Live" moments ago, explaining he heard about Talib Pecantte's death this morning on the news and decided he wanted to do something for the victim's family ... especially since it happened so close to Christmas.

Game tells us he's already raised $7,000 to help cover the boy's funeral expenses -- but the crazy part, Game says a huge chunk of that money is coming from top-ranking L.A. gang members ... rival gangs too ... Crips, Bloods, and Latin gangs alike.

Game says he doesn't have a goal in mind ... he's just gonna keep raising money until he can't raise any more. He also says he's speaking to rival gang leaders about instituting a cease-fire ... at least during the holidays.

Paul Walker wasn't the first to allegedly experience mechanical issues inside a Porsche Carrera GT -- TMZ has learned, the car company was sued over a deadly 2005 crash involving the same vehicle ... and it paid dearly in a massive settlement.

According to the lawsuit, two men (a driver and his passenger) were killed on a California race track while driving a 2005 Carrera GT ... hitting a wall at over 100 MPH while trying to avoid another car on the track.

The family of the passenger sued practically everyone involved in the accident for gross negligence -- and won $4.5 million in a giant settlement ... $350,000 of which was paid by Porsche.

The lawsuit alleged the GT didn't handle correctly on the track -- and according to the attorney for the victim's family, Craig McClellan ... sworn testimony from several Porsche experts confirmed a major design flaw with the GT is it doesn't have a Porsche Stability Management system.

We're told the PSMS uses a computer to correct the car if the rear end loses control -- and it is now required by law.

For Porsche's part, the company denied liability -- saying the car fully met federal safety standards at the time -- but it still paid its portion of the settlement to avoid further litigation.

It's unclear if Roger Rodas' Carrera GT had been fitted with a PSMS -- but McClellan says ZERO 2005 Carrera GTs (like Roger's) came off the assembly line with the system.

PSMS or not, it's worth noting the car has been a HUGE legal pain in the ass for Porsche. So far, Paul's family hasn't filed a lawsuit.

Paul Walker would NOT have been cool with Roger Rodas pushing the Porsche Carrerra GT to dangerous speeds the day they died ... that according to Paul's father.

Paul Walker Sr. says he's heard all the rumors about his son being into street racing -- but insists that's simply not true, because ... "He did not ever want to hurt anybody."

In the clip, Paul Sr. does admit his son loved going fast in cars, but only under specific conditions .. which he describes.

2:35 P.M. PT -- The coroner tells us the autopsies on both bodies are now complete ... but we're still waiting to find out the exact cause of death. The findings could be announced later today. Story developing ...

We may soon know the exact cause of Paul Walker's death ... TMZ has learned the coroner's office will begin the autopsy shortly.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... the autopsies on Walker and Roger Rodas will be completed today. We're told the coroner also hopes to make positive ID on both bodies ... which was delayed because dental records were needed.

Walker and his racing partner Rodas were killed Saturday when the Porsche Carrera GT they were driving in crashed into a pole. Witnesses on the scene say it appeared both men burned to death when the car exploded in a fireball.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Jay Leno knows firsthand the danger -- and the thrill -- of driving a Porsche Carrera GT -- similar to the one that Paul Walker died in -- because he lost control of one while driving at 182 MPH!!

Leno climbed behind the wheel of a 605 horsepower, V-10 GT back in 2005 ... trying to set a speed record at Talladega Motor Speedway. Cost of the car at that time -- $448K.

MotorTrend reported that Leno was gunning it -- going faster than 180 MPH -- when he lost control of the Porsche and spun out ... spinning across the track five times before hitting the infield grass.

Amazingly ... Leno managed to avoid hitting any walls .... and there was hardly a scratch on the car.

Pro driver David Donohue -- who was present that day -- told MotorTrend Leno took his foot off the accelerator because he got too close to a wall, which caused the car to spin. He says it shows just how sensitive the Carrera GT is at high speeds.

The death of Paul Walker has struck a chord with rapper Flo Rida ... who took a moment during his live concert in Dallas last night to pay tribute to the late actor ... and TMZ has the footage.

Flo was performing at the Jingle Ball concert when he started to get emotional about Walker -- saying, "He was a rider himself ... much love, god bless your family and yourself, Paul Walker."

File this one under: OOOPS.

"Wheel of Fortune" aired an episode last night that featured a puzzle with the answer "The Fast and the Furious" ... just days after Paul Walker died ... and now the show is in full spin mode.

During the show, producers ran a crawl on the top of the screen that read, "This episode was taped a few weeks ago, prior to the tragic passing of 'The Fast and the Furious' actor Paul Walker."

After the show aired, Pat Sajak tweeted, "Feel terrible about timing of 'Fast & Furious' puzzle tonight. Taped long ago & went out to 200 local stations days ago."

Vin Diesel finally broke his silence on the death of his friend Paul Walker last night -- arriving at the crash site and thanking mourners for "showing that angel in heaven how much you appreciate him."

Diesel and Walker had appeared in several "Fast and the Furious" movies together -- and considered each other close friends off camera.

When Vin arrived to the crash site, a police officer allowed the actor to use the loudspeaker from a squad car to address the huge crowd ... and he delivered a heartfelt speech.

"To show the love that you have shown Paul ... it's gonna stay with me forever."

The sports car Paul Walker died in was so gnarly to drive ... Porsche WARNED its dealers, in writing, about letting just anyone drive the vehicle ... because it's hyper sensitive to road conditions.

TMZ obtained a copy of a memo sent from Porsche HQ to multiple dealers in the Midwest back in 2004 ... right before the $500K Carrera GT went on sale -- and it explains how ridiculously powerful the car is, but also that ... "this vehicle cannot drive over a Foster Beer can that is lying on its side."

In the doc, a Porsche exec says, "You need to be aware of what type of road surface you are on (dips; pot holes, seam heights, etc.)"

It's worth noting ... the road where Paul and Roger Rodas crashed is covered with reflective dots -- y'know, the ones you've probably driven over harmlessly thousands of times. Of course, you probably weren't driving the GT ... which some pro drivers have called "brutal and savage" and difficult to control.

Police are still investigating the exact cause of the accident, and, so far, have only said speed was a factor.

The exec's memo explains the GT is damn close to being a real deal racecar, but adds ... "This car has all the disadvantages of a racecar."

10:45 PM PT -- Vin Diesel just spoke to fans at the crash site. Right after the private memorial ended, fans were allowed back to the area ... and Walker's co-star and friend got on a patrol car loudspeaker to say, "Thank you for coming down here and showing that angel up in heaven how much you appreciated him."

Cops just cleared Paul Walker's fans and all media from the crash site ... in order to prepare for a private family memorial ... TMZ has learned.

Thousands of Walker's fans have been gathering on the site since Saturday afternoon to pay their respects -- but moments ago sheriff's deputies dispersed the crowd ... as well as all reporters and photographers.

A source close to Paul and Roger Rodas tells us the families just wanted some private time to mourn while visiting the site of the tragedy.

The high speed crash that killed Paul Walker and Roger Rodas caused a huge explosion and fireball that could be seen for miles ... and it was all recorded on a security camera that captured the precise moment of impact.

The footage was recorded from a rooftop camera in an industrial park next to the crash site. It shows the initial collision (on the right of the screen) which caused the Porsche to explode in flames ... moments before another, larger blast sends a fireball high into the sky.

What's also interesting -- there appears to be no other cars either immediately in front of or behind the Porsche at the time of the crash.

Paul Walker liked his cars fast fast fast -- in fact, he once boasted about hitting a top speed of 185 MPH -- and it wasn't on a racetrack ... it was on a freeway.

"The Fast & The Furious" star -- who died in a fiery car crash on Saturday -- made the revelation on GTChannel back in 2011 ... while taking a Nissan GT-R out for a test spin in Japan.

"The fastest I've ever gone is 184 to 186," Walker says on the video .... and then he reveals how fast he was clocked on an actual racetrack.

Paul Walker's father Paul Walker Sr. could barely keep himself together today in L.A., claiming the entire Walker family has been struggling to cope with the actor's sudden death.

Paul addressed the media outside his home, saying he's never experienced anything like this in his life. "It's hard ... every now and then I'll really break down."

And the rest of the Walker family isn't any better -- Paul's dad says the actor's 15-year-old daughter Meadow has been taking it really hard, but thankfully ... she's surrounded by family and friends who love her.

RZA -- the leader of the Wu-Tang Clan -- paid tribute to his friend and former movie co-star Paul Walker with a new song ... and it's incredibly emotional.

RZA -- who worked with Paul on a film called "Brick Mansion" -- posted the tribute song called "Destiny Bends" online Sunday night ... and says he wrote it with singer Will Wells after hearing the tragic death news.

In the song, performed by Wells, RZA reflects on the time they shared together and thanks Paul for his friendship.

"On that highway to Heaven, you will drive in the wind and surf in the seas .. oh how can this be?"

RZA says he made the tribute because, "Millions of people get to know an artist or movie star through their work, but few are allowed to cross each others' paths and see through the veil of stardom and find the common denominator that we share."

The site where Paul Walker died has become a danger zone ... with some fans paying tribute to the actor by doing dangerous burn-outs, donuts and other high speed stunts -- and now cops tell us they're cracking down before someone else gets hurt.

In fact, one our of own TMZ producers personally witnessed the exhibitions of speed at the crash site -- people roll up, burn rubber, and peel out in an effort to pay tribute to the late "Fast and the Furious" star.

The producer of the movie Paul Walker was shooting when he died says production is on hold right now ... telling TMZ there are more important things to worry about.

Neal Moritz -- who's produced all the "Fast & Furious" movies -- is currently shooting "F&F7" and, as TMZ reported, the film was scheduled to resume shooting key scenes with Walker this week in Atlanta.