One person was killed today, and at least seven other people were injured, in a chain reaction, head-on crash in Malibu that may have been triggered by paparazzi chasing reality-TV star Bruce Jenner.
Jenner was quoted by tabloid news services as saying the deadly wreck followed a chase of his Cadillac Escalade by five paparazzi, west on Pacific Coast Highway and away from the Malibu Civic Center.
In an often-crowded beach area on PCH, near a seafood cafe and campground, Jenner’s Escalade rear-ended a white sedan. The sedan lurched into oncoming traffic, and collided head-on with a black Hummer, according to witness accounts given to reporters at the scene.
A woman inside the white sedan was originally said to be critically injured, and a paramedic rescue helicopter landed at Pepperdine University. But she apparently died in the wreckage.
Jenner was photographed standing, uninjured, amid several wrecked cars by the celebrity news firm Splash News. The pictures were published within an hour of the crash by TMZ.
The former Olympian was giving statements to sheriff’s deputies.
“I don’t know any details other than he was uninjured,” said Jenner’s publicist, Alan Nierob.
Rescuers were notified of the crash, on PCH at or near the Corral Canyon Road signal, at 12:12 p.m., said Sgt. Matt Dunn of the sheriff’s Lost
PCH remained closed in both directions, about two miles west of Malibu Canyon Road.
Because PCH remains closed at Point Mugu following this winter’s flooding, landslides and wave damage, the 6,000 or so residents of western Malibu were somewhat isolated by the two blockages. Access to the Point Dume and Zuma Beach areas was available only via Kanan-Dume Road, or three twisting back-country canyon roads across the Santa Monica Mountains.
Traffic across the mountains on Kanan-Dume Road had slowed to a crawl at midafternoon.
Paparazzi have been a contentious issue in Malibu and other celebrity- laden parts of Los Angeles. Large groups of freelance photographers are often seen outside restaurants or grocery stores, and some business have taken to posting “paparazzi free zone” signs.
