A 51-year-old employee of Nobu Malibu restaurant was fatally injured in a parked car Saturday morning when a Range Rover slammed into it on Pacific Coast Highway, authorities said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department identified the victim as Ryo Uchimiya and said he had arrived at work early Saturday and was waiting in his car outside the restaurant, a high-end Japanese eatery known for celebrity sightings.
The Range Rover, driven by a 16-year-old boy, struck Uchimiya’s car around 6:50 a.m., said Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. John Addington.
He said it appeared the boy had been speeding. No charges had been filed but an investigation was underway. There were no other injuries reported.
The 21-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway that runs through Malibu is one of the state’s deadliest and most notorious roads, with an average of about four crash-related fatalities per year over the last decade.
In October 2023, authorities say, a 24-year-old Malibu man driving a BMW at an estimated 104 miles per hour in a 45-mph zone struck three parked cars, which hit and fatally injured four Alpha Phi sorority sisters from Pepperdine University.
The driver, Fraser Bohm, has been charged with murder, and the incident prompted plans for increased safety measures, such as cameras and increased fines for speeding.
Construction zones proliferated in the area after the January 2025 fires that destroyed local homes and businesses, resulting in reduced speed limits.