A head-on traffic collision left two dead Friday after a minivan crossed the center median of Pacific Coast Highway and crashed into a pickup truck heading in the opposite direction.
The incident occurred around noon on Friday, according to officials, when Mike Hollinrake, 48, a transient man well known in Malibu, was driving westbound on Pacific Coast Highway heading toward Trancas Canyon Road.
Eyewitnesses estimated Hollinrake’s silver minivan was traveling anywhere from 70-90 miles per hour as it approached another vehicle. Then, in an apparent effort to pass the vehicle, Hollinrake seemingly lost control of his minivan and crashed into the paddles separating westbound and eastbound traffic.
“He looked like he may have been coming up on another car that he wanted to move over, so he could pass it,” the detective in charge of the case, Dave Huelsen, described during a phone call with The Malibu Times Tuesday. “Probably overcorrected a little bit, went through the center delineators, took out some delineators and then went head-on into another vehicle that was heading eastbound.”
Inside that vehicle, a red pickup truck, were Rick Artes, 60, of La Habra, and his son. The two Arteses, both builders, were heading to a construction site, Huelsen said, when Hollinrake’s van hit them head on. Rick Artes and Hollinrake were both declared dead at the scene, according to officials with the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner’s office. Artes’ son sustained serious injuries and was transported to a nearby medical center, where he was expected to survive.
“The passenger was injured severely but they are going to survive, but they did sustain some serious injuries, including having to undergo some form of surgery,” Huelsen described.
During the collision, a wheel was knocked loose from the pickup truck and struck a female bicyclist, who was also transported to a hospital.
“They are hurt. I found a blood spot where they came to rest, so they obviously were injured substantially,” Huelsen said, adding that the injuries were not life-threatening.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing evidence of alcohol at the scene of the crash, which Huelsen said was under investigation.
“We’re definitely investigating that,” Huelsen said. “We did find an empty alcohol bottle in close proximity of where [the minivan] came to rest.”
The detective said it would not be known whether Hollinrake was driving under the influence until toxicology reports from the coroner’s department came back.
According to officials from the coroner’s department, autopsies for Hollinrake and Artes were still pending as of Tuesday.
An online fundraiser for Rick Artes was established on Saturday, with a goal of raising $20,000 for the victim’s family. The page described Artes as “a man loved by all.”
“He was the life of the party and the king of Facebook,” the memorial said. “He made jokes about anything, but also had a serious side to pick us up when needed.”
As of Tuesday, the fundraiser had collected about $13,000 in donations.
Hollinrake, who was raised, attended school and spent his life in Malibu, was homeless at the time of the crash. He was well known in town as a local surfer and would work odd jobs in construction.
The collision occurred at the far west end of Zuma Beach on a Friday when temperatures were soaring into the upper 80s, with thousands of visitors flocking to Malibu to avoid higher temperatures over the hill. The collision, rescues, investigation and clean-up had both lanes of Pacific Coast Highway heading eastbound and one lane heading westbound closed for several hours, leading to backups that stretched miles. The lanes were eventually reported reopened just after 6:30 p.m. Friday.
The fundraiser for Rick Artes can be found at gofundme.com/in-memory-of-rick-artes.
