Teen Driver Hits Parked Car on PCH, Killing Longtime Nobu Malibu Chef

A longtime Nobu Malibu chef was killed Saturday morning when a vehicle driven by a teenager struck his parked car along Pacific Coast Highway.

The crash happened around 6:53 a.m. Oct. 3 in the 22600 block of PCH, near the Malibu restaurant, according to CBS Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said a boy under 18 was driving a gray Range Rover eastbound when the SUV struck a vehicle parked on the eastbound shoulder. The person inside that vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim had not been publicly identified Saturday, but the California Post reported that he was a 51-year-old chef who had worked at Nobu Malibu since its early days.

Early Arrival

The chef had reportedly arrived early for work and fallen asleep in his car after working at the Malibu restaurant the previous night. The Post reported that he was preparing for a catering job in Santa Monica later that day.

The Range Rover crossed the white line separating the traffic lane from the shoulder before striking the parked car, according to the Post. The impact pushed the chef’s vehicle into another parked vehicle, which was then forced into a third.

Separate reporting cited by MyNewsLA identified the driver as a 16-year-old boy and said the SUV had been traveling at least 50 mph before leaving the traffic lane.

The precise speed and what caused the driver to leave the roadway had not been established publicly.

Along PCH

The collision happened near Carbon Canyon Road, just west of Nobu Malibu.

The California Highway Patrol issued a Sigalert at 7:51 a.m. that closed two lanes of PCH while the crash scene was investigated.

Nobu Malibu was closed Saturday following the death. The Post reported that flowers and notes had been left outside the restaurant for the employee.

Sheriff’s officials said the cause of the crash remains under investigation. Drugs or alcohol did not initially appear to have contributed to the collision.

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