MALIBU, California â A 51-year-old longtime chef at Nobu Malibu was killed early Saturday after a teenage driver crashed into the parked vehicle where he was reportedly sleeping along Pacific Coast Highway, just steps from the famed oceanfront restaurant.
Nobu chef killed on PCH as speeding teen crashes into him https://t.co/KAgXPutCoR https://t.co/gsVLxHotRY
— California Post (@californiapost) October 3, 2026
The fatal collision happened at about 6:53 a.m. October 3 in the 22600 block of PCH near Carbon Canyon Road. The chef, whose name had not been publicly released, had reportedly worked at Nobu Malibu the previous night and was resting before heading to a catering assignment in Santa Monica.
Nobu Malibu closed for the day as employees mourned a colleague who had reportedly been part of the restaurant’s team since its early years.
Teen driver struck parked vehicle near Carbon Canyon Road
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said a boy under 18 was driving a gray Range Rover eastbound on Pacific Coast Highway when the SUV struck a vehicle parked on the eastbound shoulder.
The occupant of the parked vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. Subsequent reporting identified the driver as a 16-year-old boy.
A local radio report cited by news outlets said the SUV was traveling at least 50 mph before it crossed the road’s fog line â the white marking separating the travel lane from the shoulder â and hit the parked vehicle.
Authorities have not yet released a final determination of the SUV’s speed or explained why the teenager left the traffic lane, meaning the reported speed remains separate from the official crash investigation.
Impact reportedly pushed cars into other vehicles
The initial collision reportedly triggered a chain reaction involving additional parked vehicles. The force of the impact pushed the chef’s vehicle into another vehicle, which was then pushed into a third.
The California Highway Patrol issued a Sigalert at 7:51 a.m., with lane closures affecting PCH near Carbon Canyon Road while deputies and emergency crews investigated the scene.
Malibu officials later warned drivers that a fatal collision east of Malibu Pier had caused lane closures in both directions.
Investigators have said alcohol or drugs do not appear to have been factors involving the teenage driver. No charges had been publicly announced in the latest available information.
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Chef was reportedly sleeping before catering assignment
The circumstances surrounding the victim’s final hours have added to the shock surrounding his death.
According to reporting citing restaurant sources, the chef had worked at Nobu Malibu on Friday night and was due to help with a catering job in Santa Monica on Saturday. He was reportedly sleeping in the back seat of his vehicle before the assignment when the crash occurred.
His identity had not been officially released. Flowers and messages were reportedly left near Nobu as colleagues and members of the community reacted to the loss.
The fatal crash follows other serious transportation incidents in the Los Angeles region, including a Chatsworth Metro bus crash that killed two people. Prosecutors later filed murder charges in that separate case, detailed in an update on the Chatsworth crash investigation.
PCH safety concerns return to spotlight
The location of Saturday’s crash makes the case especially significant because Pacific Coast Highway through Malibu has been at the center of an ongoing road-safety campaign.
The City of Malibu’s official PCH safety program says the city declared a local emergency in November 2023 over dangerous, reckless and distracted driving on the highway.
The move followed the October 2023 deaths of four Pepperdine University students who were struck while walking along PCH, an incident that intensified calls for stronger enforcement and safer road design.
Malibu has since moved forward with automated speed enforcement and other safety measures across its 21-mile stretch of PCH.
During preliminary testing in September 2026, city officials said cameras recorded about 100,000 potential speeding violations at four locations, with the majority occurring in eastern Malibu.
The city is also studying speed limits around Carbon Canyon and Tuna Canyon. The speed-camera warning phase has been delayed until November while installation adjustments and that review continue.
There is no evidence that Saturday’s teenage driver was recorded by one of those cameras, and the testing data does not establish the cause of this crash. But the collision has again put attention on the risks facing people who drive, work and stop along one of Southern California’s busiest coastal highways.
Key questions remain under investigation
Authorities have not yet said why the Range Rover crossed onto the shoulder, whether speed will officially be listed as a contributing factor or whether the teenage driver will face charges.
The chef’s name also remained officially undisclosed in the latest reports. Investigators are expected to continue reviewing the circumstances surrounding the collision as Nobu Malibu employees mourn the loss of a longtime colleague.
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