A luxury Range Rover leased to legendary Hollywood composer Harry Gregson-Williams struck a parked car and killed a Nobu Malibu chef, as police probe the 16-year-old behind the wheel.
A 2026 Land Rover crossed the fog line on Pacific Coast Highway near Nobu Malibu around 6:50 a.m. Saturday and slammed into a parked car, setting off a chain-reaction crash with multiple parked vehicles. Ryo Uchimiya, a 51-year-old chef who had worked at the celebrity restaurant for roughly 25 years, was in the back seat and died at the scene.
The Post has learned the suspect SUV was leased by Harry Gregson-Williams, the British-born film composer, according to DMV records. Authorities said a 16-year-old was driving and appeared to be speeding before the crash. The teenager has been identified but not publicly named because of his age. His connection to Gregson-Williams, and why he was behind the wheel, remains unclear.
Uchimiya leaves behind a wife and two sons. Authorities said he died from multiple blunt-force injuries. He was believed to have been sleeping in the vehicle before another shift when the Range Rover hit.
Friends remembered Uchimiya as a skilled cook, a devoted father, and a man who loved the outdoors. Steven Zaw, a friend whose family was close with Uchimiya’s and whose children attended the same school, spoke about the life cut short on the highway stretch outside the restaurant.
"He’s an amazing human being, great skier. Taught his kids how to ski. We went on a lot of ski trips together."
Zaw also praised the chef’s craft and plans that will never happen.
"Amazing chef. He wanted to open a restaurant in Long Beach. On the ski trips he made great meals. Cooks way better than me."
“He loved climbing. We loved him,” Zaw added.
Gregson-Williams, 64, is a prolific Hollywood composer who moved from Britain to Los Angeles in the 1990s and has lived there for decades. The Los Angeles Philharmonic has described him as one of the industry’s most sought-after composers. He recently reunited with Ben Affleck to score “Animals,” a new Netflix thriller, and has scoring credits that include work tied to “The Dog Stars,” starring Jacob Elordi.
Two days before the crash, Gregson-Williams was photographed at the Los Angeles premiere of “Animals” with his family. Affleck, Kerry Washington, Matt Damon, and other stars attended the Thursday event.
Reached after the wreck, the composer did not cast the tragedy as someone else’s burden alone.
"This family is grieving just as the other family."
Authorities said the 16-year-old appeared to be speeding before the SUV left its lane, crossed the fog line, and plowed into Uchimiya’s parked car. The probe into the fatal collision remains open. No arrest or charges have been announced in the reporting.
That leaves hard questions hanging. Who gave the teenager the keys to a late-model luxury Land Rover? What permission, if any, existed? And what speed and road conditions turned a Saturday morning on PCH into a fatal scene outside one of Malibu’s best-known restaurants?
Pacific Coast Highway is no stranger to deadly wrecks. A 21-mile section of the road has averaged roughly four crash-related deaths a year over the past decade. Uchimiya’s death adds another name to that toll, a longtime local chef, off-shift, believed to be asleep in a parked car when a speeding SUV arrived.
A working father is gone. A luxury vehicle leased to a famous composer sits at the center of the case. And a 16-year-old driver is under investigation while both families grieve. Accountability on that highway cannot wait on celebrity distance or unanswered questions about who was allowed behind the wheel.
