Ryo Uchimiya, a 51-year-old sushi chef who worked at Nobu Malibu for 25 years, was killed in a car crash in California early Saturday morning. Surveillance footage showed that a 16-year-old boy driving a Range Rover hit Uchimiya's parked car while he slept inside before work. The impact caused a chain-reaction collision involving other vehicles. Police suspect the teenager was speeding at the time of the accident but found no evidence of intoxication, and it is unclear if charges will be filed against him.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A longtime Nobu chef was killed after a teenage driver speeding along California's notoriously dangerous Pacific Coast Highway, smashed into his parked car as he slept inside before work.
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he → kill → work
Horrifying surveillance footage captured the moment a Range Rover driven by a 16-year-old boy slammed into the back of 51-year-old Ryo Uchimiya's vehicle outside Nobu Malibu early on Saturday morning.
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Rover → capture → morning
The enormous impact sent Uchimiya's sedan careening into two other parked vehicles in a devastating chain-reaction crash.
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sedan → send → crash
Uchimiya, a beloved sushi chef who had worked at the celebrity hotspot for 25 years, suffered multiple blunt force injuries and died, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
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who → work → examiner
His death was ruled an accident.
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death → rule → ?
The father-of-two had arrived early ahead of work and was taking a nap inside his car before beginning his shift when the SUV plowed into him at around 6:50am, according to KTLA.
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SUV → arrive → KTLA
The 16-year-old driver’s Range Rover is pictured beside the mangled wreckage after the devastating crash on Pacific Coast Highway that killed longtime Nobu chef Ryo Uchimiya
Police tape cordoned off the scene outside Nobu Malibu after the teenage driver slammed into Uchimiya’s parked car as the chef rested inside before work
A coworker told the New York Post that Uchimiya had been preparing for a catering assignment and was expected to rest for only around half an hour.
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Uchimiya → picture → hour
'He was resting, getting ready for a catering gig,' a fellow Nobu chef said.
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chef → rest → gig
'We all get here really early.'
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We → get → ?
Investigators with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department believe the teenage motorist was speeding before the collision.
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motorist → believe → collision
The boy appeared stunned and confused in the aftermath, according to a witness.
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boy → appear → witness
'I heard throughout the day that maybe he didn't even have a license,' she said.
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she → hear → license
He looked very young and very confused and his parents didn't even show up to find him.
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parents → look → him
He was sitting there for two hours by himself.'
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He → sit → himself
Investigators said there was no indication that the 16-year-old was under the influence.
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old → say → influence
Authorities have not said whether he will face charges.
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he → say → charges
The sheer force of the crash stunned Uchimiya's colleagues.
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force → stun → colleagues
'Guy must have been flying,' the fellow Nobu chef said.
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chef → fly → ?
'Out of all the parked cars out here, why did it have to be this one?'
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it → park → cars
Several badly damaged vehicles could be seen along Pacific Coast Highway after the impact sent Uchimiya’s car crashing into other parked vehicles in a chain-reaction smash
A neighbor said he heard the violent collision from the building where the crash occurred and rushed to see what had happened.
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what → damage → building
Emergency crews were on scene about 11 minutes later, but noted how several more minutes passed before responders realized somebody was trapped inside the mangled vehicle.
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somebody → note → vehicle
'I heard them say, "There's someone in here,"' the neighbor recalled.
'
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neighbor → hear → ?
It took about nine minutes for them to cut into the car and get him out.'
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them → take → him
He then watched rescuers desperately work on Uchimiya for several minutes.
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rescuers → watch → minutes
News of the chef's death devastated staff at Nobu Malibu, where Uchimiya had spent a quarter-century building a reputation as both a talented chef and cherished colleague.
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Uchimiya → devastate → chef
'He was a real nice guy, very talented chef,' his coworker said.
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coworker → say → ?
A valet remembered Uchimiya as a 'really nice guy' who would routinely wave as he passed.
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he → remember → guy
Others were simply too distraught to discuss what had happened.
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what → discuss → ?
'We're not ready to talk about it now,' a Nobu hostess said.
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hostess → talk → it
'We all need time.'
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We → need → time
The restaurant's manager said its tight-knit 'family of staffers' was rallying around Uchimiya's wife and two sons.
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family → say → wife
Uchimiya had worked as a sushi chef at celebrity hotspot Nobu Malibu for 25 years, with devastated colleagues remembering the father-of-two as a kind and talented chef
'Obviously, it's been a very, very difficult day for so many people,' the manager told KTLA.
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manager → work → KTLA
Nobu Malibu was closed on Saturday as workers mourned their longtime colleague, while flowers and handwritten notes were left outside in his memory.
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flowers → close → memory
People living and working around Nobu told KTLA motorists routinely barrel along the stretch above the speed limit.
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motorists → live → limit
Former Malibu mayor Jefferson 'Zuma Jay' Wagner, who owns a surf shop across the street from Nobu, said dangerous encounters are a familiar sight.
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encounters → own → Nobu
I see it all the time,' Wagner told The California Post.
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Wagner → see → Post
'They get out, they don't look in their mirrors.
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they → get → mirrors
They hit the cyclists, run into car doors.'
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They → hit → doors