The driver of a vehicle that crossed the center divider on PCH near Geoffrey’s Restaurant last year, killing 16-year-old Sabrina Csato, was sentenced to jail last week. Malibu Municipal Court Judge Lawrence Mira sentenced Kenneth Small, 42, to the maximum permitted for the misdemeanor conviction, 1-1/2 years in jail and a $7,000 fine.
Csato, a Palisades High School student, was killed instantly when the minivan driven by Small drifted over the center line and struck her vehicle head on.
The victim’s father was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as calling PCH a treacherous deathtrap. “If there had been a median divider on PCH my daughter would be alive today,” he said.
Csato’s family has created an Internet site on which people who have survived accidents on PCH can exchange information.
There have reportedly been an estimated 100 deaths in the last 10 years on PCH between Santa Monica and the Ventura County line. Malibu Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl has launched a PCH Traffic Task Force, which has been meeting since Csato’s death, joining all agencies that impact on PCH — Caltrans, LAPD, LASD, CHP, the county and the cities of Santa Monica, Los Angeles and Malibu, and others. The force is attempting to resolve problems and eliminate safety hazards on PCH.