A pre-dawn car crash in Malibu last Thursday morning ended the life of a man believed to be a member of the local homeless community, confirmed L.A. County Coroner Ed Winter to The Malibu Times.
Andrew St. Ledger Monaghan, a 63-year-old Caucasian male, was struck by a car heading eastbound on Pacific Coast Highway east of the Malibu Pier at around 6:20 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 22 and pronounced dead on scene at 6:34 a.m.
“He is believed to be a transient,” Winter said. “I have no local address.”
Not much is known about Monaghan, who turned 63 one month before the accident, on Sept. 25.
The accident completely shut down traffic heading eastbound on PCH Thursday morning, causing backups that lasted until almost 11 a.m.
Information available about Monaghan’s life is sparse, but information abounds regarding the safety challenges of PCH in that area, thanks to the $20 million PCH safety study and improvement plan that was approved by Malibu City Council in June of this year.
It should be noted that the driver of the vehicle remained on scene, cooperated with sheriff’s deputies and was not charged with a crime, according to officials with the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station. Monaghan’s death was ruled an accident and an autopsy confirmed his cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries.
The location where Monaghan was struck, near the 22500 block of PCH (between Sweetwater Mesa and Carbon Beach Terrace) was the location of four unsafe speed collisions between Jan. 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012, according to information in the PCH safety study.
The stretch of PCH from Big Rock Drive to Cross Creek Road is, according to the study, on average, the location of the most traffic collisions in the city.
“In the 1990s, all six of the most common locations for traffic collisions were in [the area from] Big Rock Drive to Cross Creek Road. Later, [the area from] Cross Creek Road to Busch Drive became the most common area for traffic collisions. Since 2010, [the area from Big Rock Drive to Cross Creek Road] has again been the most common area for traffic collisions,” the study read.
According to the study, an average of 12 percent of vehicles that pass the Malibu Pier from 7 to 11 a.m. go more than 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.
Several improvements should be coming to the area in coming years, since the study’s improvement plan was approved.
Traffic signal communication from John Tyler Drive to Topanga Canyon Road will optimize timing between signals to create a smoother traffic flow.
Vehicle speeds from Webb Way to Las Flores Canyon Road will be analyzed in order to determine if lower speed limits are warranted, and speed limits may then be lowered in the area.
The crosswalk between McDonald’s and Busch Realty, yards from where the accident took place, will be changed to a HAWK pedestrian signal with median refuge. HAWK signals are designed to stop vehicle traffic only as needed. A study by the Federal Highway Administration said HAWK pedestrian signals can cause a “69 percent reduction in pedestrian crashes.”