Coroner releases official cause of death for Nobu Malibu chef as witnesses reveal horrific new details

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A 51-year-old Nobu sushi chef who died in a horrific car crash succumbed to “multiple blunt force injuries,” according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner’s office.

Ryo Uchimiya was killed early Saturday when a speeding 16-year-old driver in a Range Rover struck his parked car on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu while Uchimiya was sleeping inside the vehicle.

The medical examiner ruled the manner of death as an accident.

As of early Sunday, no arrests had been made.

Uchimiya’s coworkers at Nobu remembered him as a kind and talented chef whose sudden death left the restaurant community in shock.

“He was a real nice guy, very talented chef,” a fellow Nobu chef told The Post. “It’s such a shame.”

The chef said Uchimiya had been resting in his car before a catering job and was only expected to be there for about 30 minutes.

“He was resting, getting ready for a catering gig,” the chef said. “We all get here really early.”

The coworker said the circumstances of the crash were particularly difficult to comprehend, given how many cars are parked along the area.

“Guy must have been flying,” he said. “Out of all the parked cars out here, why did it have to be this one?”

Uchimiya, who had two sons, was also remembered fondly by other Nobu staff. A valet described him as a “really nice guy” who would always wave when he walked by.

A Nobu hostess said staff members were still processing the loss. “We’re not ready to talk about it now,” she said. “We all need time.”

Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner, a two-time former Malibu mayor and longtime surf shop owner, said he regularly witnesses dangerous encounters between drivers and cyclists on PCH, including outside Nobu.

“I’m right across the street from Nobu. I see it all the time,” Wagner told The California Post. “They get out, they don’t look in their mirrors. They hit the cyclists, run into car doors.”

Wagner said the crashes are part of a much larger safety problem that has plagued the highway.

“We’re not bringing awareness to all the tragedies that happen on this highway,” he said. “We need to bring this forward, and the general population needs to understand that this highway is PCH: pretty crappy highway.”

A neighbor who lives in the building where the crash happened told The Post he heard the impact and immediately got up to see what had happened.

He said it took about 11 minutes for rescue crews to arrive. He also said it took responders several minutes to realize there was a person inside the vehicle.

“When I heard them say, ‘There’s someone in here,’” he said, “it took about nine minutes for them to cut into the car and get him out.”

The neighbor said he watched as rescuers worked on the victim for several minutes.

Nobu Malibu was closed Saturday as employees mourned the loss, while notes and flowers were left outside the restaurant in his memory.

The crash scene was cordoned off as sheriff’s deputies investigated, with images from the scene showing badly damaged vehicles scattered along PCH.

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