Authorities have identified a 44-year-old man who was killed in a head-on collision on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu when another vehicle crossed over the center median.
Martin Okeke died from multiple traumatic injuries in the crash, according to the Los Angeles County Office of Medical Examiner. The accident occurred at about 10:20 p.m. Thursday near Carbon Canyon Road, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“A preliminary investigation revealed that a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, traveling eastbound on Pacific Coast Highway, crossed the center median for unknown reasons and collided head-on with a 2020 Cadillac traveling westbound,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement. “As a result of the collision, the driver of the Cadillac succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The passenger of the Cadillac and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz were transported to a local hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.”
Okeke was driving the Cadillac.
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life resulting from last night’s accident,” Malibu Mayor Steve Uhring said in a statement Friday. “This heartbreaking incident underscores the importance of the city’s ongoing efforts to address safety on Pacific Coast Highway.”
Anyone with information on the case was urged to contact the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at 818-878-1808.
PCH has been the subject of intense scrutiny over safety in recent months, sparked in part by an October crash that killed four Pepperdine students — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams.
The four students, who were all 20 and 21 years old, were killed on the night of Oct. 17, when a driver who was allegedly speeding west on Pacific Coast Highway slammed into several parked cars on the north shoulder of the roadway. Sheriff’s officials said those parked cars struck the four women, killing them at the scene.
The driver, Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, has been charged with four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Bohm’s attorney has contended that Bohm was the victim of a road-rage incident on PCH and was being chased when the crash occurred.
At a recent news conference, local and state officials said 59 people have been killed along the Malibu portion of PCH since 2010. Authorities said infrastructure improvements are being made to bolster safety on the roadway, and the California Highway Patrol has stepped up its presence to boost enforcement.
Infrastructure improvements have included speed limit markings on the road, safety corridor signs, digital “speed feedback” signs, curve warnings and pedestrian signal upgrades. A bill is pending in the state Legislature that would allow the installation of speed cameras on PCH.