KBUU News: Man From Malibu Killed, Woman Gravely Injured In PCH Head-On, Samaritan Then Killed By Drunk — Another Drunk On Wrong Side Of PCH Sends Deputy’s Cruiser Into Pacific, Dog Slightly Hurt — Caltrans Big Boss In Malibu Today To Review ‘Progress’ — Rain Moving In

A Malibu man is dead after his car was hit head-on by another vehicle Saturday night.

The dead man is identified only as a 44 year old man with a Malibu address.

A 48-year-old Malibu woman passenger was inside the Nissan Sentra that got hit.  

She is hospitalized this morning … with major injuries.

No names are available.

All this happened just before midnight Saturday on the straight freeway section of the highway … in the farmlands between Malibu and Oxnard.

At the one gentle curve on the freeway … just north of Hueneme Road … a northbound car crossed over the grassy median on the divided freeway section of Pacific Coast Highway … near the Navy airfield at Point Mugu.

Just north of Hueneme Road … the driver of a Volkswagen Golf lost control while heading towards Oxnard.

It plowed into Nissan Sentra … heading towards Malibu.

Inside … the man and woman from Malibu.

After the crash … another crash … and that one claimed a second life. 

A 21-year-old man from Port Hueneme saw the crash across the freeway … pulled over and tried to help.

But a Toyota Scion heading towards Malibu … a drunk man at the wheel … hit the good samaritan. 

No one saw the Port Hueneme man get hit … according to Highway Patrol officers.

His body was later found on the median.

The driver of the Scion was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving causing injuries.

He was already convicted once of DUI and was on probation. 

Another Drunk On Wrong Side Of PCH Sends Deputy’s Cruiser Into Pacific, Dog Slightly Hurt

That bloody wreck came three hours after a drunk driver … reported by other motorists as driving erratically on the wrong side of the road … hit a Ventura County deputy unit head on.

The sheriff’s cruiser went down into the wet rocks … with the deputy and a police dog inside. 

Both had minor injuries but are out of the hospital and vet office. 

The deputy had been responding to a call about a suspicious person in the parking lot of the Neptune’s Net restaurant.

At the same time … people were calling 911 about an apparent drunken driver in a Mercedes heading through the curves on PCH … approaching Neptune’s Net. 

At Deer Creek Beach … the Mercedes flipped a U-turn and headed north in the southbound lane.

It plowed into the Ventura County sheriff’s vehicle … sending the SUV into the surf.

Minor injuries for the deputy … a cut lip for the police dog … named Danny. 

Photos released by the sheriff’s department show the police dog Danny in the back of the ambulance … with his handler … identified as Deputy Castaneda.

The Mercedes driver was identified as a 25 year old man from Santa Paula.

He’s in the Ventura County jail in suspicion of drunen driving charges … the CHP said.

Calif Cabinet Member To Review PCH Safety ‘Progress’ Today

Against that backdrop … the state of California’s Secretary of Transportation will be in Malibu today to display Sacramento’s concern … all the way to the governor’s office.

Caltrans is scrambling into action … after years of moving slowly on minor changes … and moving not at all on major changes.

California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin today will take a tour of PCH with state, local and public safety officials.

The state is not allowing reporters on that tour. 

Malibu instead gets a dog and pony show at the end.

After the death of four Pepperdine students in October … the state promised an immediate safety audit for the highway.

Only 2 point 5 miles have been audited.

Some city council members say enough is enough … time for the city to start unilaterally plopping down speed reduction barricades on the road.

Bruce Silverstein .. at last week’s city council meeting … urged the city to bypass Caltrans and start putting up barricades to make lanes narrower.

NEWSCART A00384 BARRICADES BS

“Giving people the appearance of less space will cause them to slow down their speed. We could use K rails. We could close lanes from time to time, and from place to place. “Again, these are all things we could do unilaterally. I know that Caltrans will say we don’t have the authority to do them, but I saythat we do, under our emergency ordinance. 

“Let the Los Angeles Times have to come out here and cover the fact that Caltrans is going to sue us for trying to save lives.”

Last week … council member Paul Grisanti said let’s wait to see what Caltrans comes up with.

NEWSCART A05631 PG CALTRANS PLAN 

“Bruce, in two days, Caltrans is going to be here talking about their list of things they can do for us.

“Now they come and say they can’t do anything and forget it we don’t like Malibu and they will never come here again.

“Or they may actually give us a list of things that they may actually do … or that they will authorize for us to do.”

OK …the list is out …  last Wednesday … Caltrans revealed their quick fixes: paint and reflectors and new signs. 

Caltrans District 7 safety director Lee Haber says 4.3 million dollars will be spent in the next four months … form the tunnel to County Line beach.

As KBUU reported last week:

HABER 1 

“It will be incorporating features like we were talking about like enhanced striping at curves through stretches of the route.

“Optical speed bars at 10 separate locations.

“We’re also including installation of 13 speed feedback signs at 10 locations. 

“We will be placing speed limit markings on the pavement … both lanes in the northbound, both lanes in the southbound direction ….

“Those will be in approximately 1 mile increments, but we will be adjusting that out in the field, as we proceed.

“Work will also include sign replacement and new signs.” 

But Haber also said that  … in the 10 weeks since the Pepperdine fatalities … Caltrans has managed to do a comprehensive safety audit for just -one tenth- of the highway in Malibu.

Just 2.5 miles. 

Again … Caltrans safety officer Lee Haber last week:

HABER 2 

“The road safety audit that we did conduct in the field, we did a limited stretch of Pacific Coast Highway, State Route 1 from Las Flores to the Malibu pier.

“We broke that into two segments … with Carbon Canyon Road as our dividing point between the northern segment and the southern segment.

“Our initial focus has been on the southern segment between Las Flores and Carbon Canyon  has been on Carbon Canyon it was we’re also continuing additional follow up items to the north to Malibu Pier.”

And Haber said the western half of PCH .. from Malibu Pier to county line …  will not even get its comprehensive safety audit for two years.

Today … the California Secretary of Transportation will visit Malibu to see how well Caltrans is doing. 

Te track record so far … botched detours … incomplete surveys … not great.

The meeting is closed to reporters. 

Stay tuned. 

Conflict Of Interest Charges Against Kraig Hill Alleged By Zumirez House Applicant

Controversy brewing for tonight’s Planning Commission meeting.

A lawyer for the family that wants to build a house on Zumirez Drive is charging a city planning commission with conflict of interest.

Kraig Hill told an attorney for an objecting neighbor … “good job” … in finding a legal reason why the house should be denied.

The objection is … Kraig Hill is supposed to act as an unbiased judge in a zoning adjudication. 

The lawyer for the objecting neighbor is Frank Angel … 

He argues that the proposed house resulted in a deadlocked 2 to 2 Planning Commission … and state law means that the deadlock means the project was not approved.

If t the family wanting to build the house …. They had to file an appeal … on time … to the city council … 

That appeal was not filled … because the Plannigjn Commission voted to send the matter to the city council.

The entire matter heads back to the Planning Commission tonight. 

Rain, Rain, Then Real Rain This Week

Back-to-back storm systems will bring cloudy, cool, and wet weather to Malibu for the next five or six days.

And that second storm system could be a real soaker. 

For today … light to locally moderate rain.

Maybe a quarter to a half inch.

A much-stronger storm system is expected Wednesday through at least Thursday, bringing the potential for heavy rainfall, gusty south winds, and scattered thunderstorms. 

South-facing slopes like the Malibu area may get some decent orographic rain, as the storm circulation pushes the clouds into the mountains, causing them to shed water. 

For the Tuesday night through Wednesday evening time frame, rain totals will generally range between 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches.  By Friday, we may see a total of 2 to 5 inches.

But this storm is a cutoff low, meaning it is not being pushed by the jet stream, and timing and overall amounts are not certain.  There might be a threat of thunderstorms Thursday through Friday morning.

Clearing might develop Saturday, but Sunday Christmas Eve and Monday Christmas Day are uncertain.