The latest fatality happened shortly after a show put on by California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin and other state transportation officials in a press conference about safety enhancements for the 21-mile highway weaving through Malibu.

At this press conference on Monday, 18 December, officials announced the green light for a (paltry) $4.2 million contract, enabling Caltrans to move forward with a roster of 30 upgrades.

After years of delays and foot dragging, construction work has finally commenced on the PCH Traffic Light Synchronization Project. Though community members have advocated for better safety and mobility conditions on PCH for decades, it took Caltrans until last week to commence construction on a project that was approved by the City of Malibu on 8 May 2017. In those intervening 6 years and 7 months of waiting, 29 people have been killed and 1139 people injured, including the 4 Pepperdine students who were recently killed by a speeding driver on 17 October 2023.