With 3 Tragic Accidents Hours Apart, Focus On Malibu Road Safety

MALIBU, CA — A string of three serious accidents struck Malibu Sunday night and Monday morning, resulting in three deaths, two injuries, and two PCH closures.

At 10:35 Sunday night, two pedestrians were fatally struck by two different cars while crossing Pacific Coast Highway at Busch Drive.

At around 2 a.m. Monday, a man was killed near the intersection of Kanan Dume Road and the infamously winding Latigo Canyon Road, when his vehicle crashed into the canyon.

Then at around 11:30 a.m., three people were injured in a two-car crash around PCH and Via Escondido, near Geoffrey’s. One car caught fire, and another person was trapped inside their car. All were taken to nearby hospitals in unknown condition.

The three evidently unrelated events - they all remain under investigation - put into sharp focus the problems related to safe driving in Malibu. Almost since it was built, PCH, a major highway, patrolled by four different agencies, bringing in millions of tourists that also serves as Malibu’s main street, has been considered dangerous.

The highway carries about 37,000 cars near the Malibu Civic Center on an average day, and about 40,000 a day in the summer, according to a Los Angeles Times report. In 2018, it saw three fatal accidents and 131 injuries, and from 2015 to 2018, the highway counted 633 injuries and 17 fatalities, according to the UC Berkeley SafeTREC Transportation Injury Mapping System.

In the election last fall, City Council candidates all listed PCH safety as one of their top priorities. Every candidate said that more rigorous speed limit enforcement was needed, and the highway needs more of a police presence. Lance Simmens proposed a total PCH redesign that would shorten the width of lanes, create turning lanes every quarter mile, and create a median for a portion of it.

A PCH median has long been proposed, but would cost millions of dollars.

Meanwhile, the fatal accident in the canyon calls attention to the many cars that have flipped off the high, winding mountain roads, which are often shared by cyclists and have near constant sharp turns that could easily send cars plunging as much as 600 feet.

In August, two teenagers were killed when their vehicle went over the side of a canyon in the hills above Stunt Road, south of Sylvan Glen Road.

In late December, a car plunged about 200 feet off Kanan Dume Road, near the intersection with Zuma Edison Road, and a Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter crew hoisted the injured driver to safety.

In January, a wintry mix of snow and hail caused two different vehicle rollovers, on Kanan Dume Road and Malibu Canyon Road, on the same day. One driver was airlifted to a nearby hospital, while another survived without injury.

In February, a car overturned and went 100 feet off the edge of Malibu Canyon Road, about two miles north of Pacific Coast Highway. The woman driving the car was ejected, and a Search and Rescue Team hoisted the woman out of the area using a fire department helicopter.

These roads, which connect Malibu to the 101 corridor, are also well-traveled. Between January 2016 and March 2018, there were a total 60 recorded crashes on Malibu Canyon Road alone, CHP Officer Leland Tang told the Pepperdine University Graphic. The majority of crashes came from speeding.

In 2017, Malibu resident Jennifer deNicola campaigned for more guardrails on Malibu Canyon Road, but the project faced delays.

Related articles:

2 Pedestrians Fatally Struck On PCH | Malibu, CA Patch

Man Crashes To His Death Into Malibu Canyon, 3rd Death That Night | Malibu, CA Patch

Fiery PCH Crash Injures 2 | Malibu, CA Patch

Question:
What do you think can be done to improve safety on PCH and/or the canyon roads? Comment below or email michael.wittner@patch.com.