'Fleeing Paparazzi,' Bruce Jenner Reportedly Rear-Ends Car, Sets Off Fatal Chain Accident on PCH In Malibu

UPDATED: Saturday, Feb. 7, 4:03 p.m.

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 a celebrity.

Reality-TV star Bruce 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 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.

--City News Service

**************************************

Saturday, Feb. 7, 3:13 p.m.

News sources are reporting this afternoon that E! reality star Bruce Jenner was unharmed in a Malibu car crash that killed one person on Pacific Coast Highway.

The “Keeping up with the Kardashians” patriarch reportedly rear-ended a vehicle on PCH that went into oncoming traffic, TMZ said.

TMZ posting here.

“Family members told the (TMZ) website that Jenner was being chased by five paparazzi vehicles when he slammed into the car. The former Olympian has been heavily targeted by the paparazzi recently, due to his upcoming docuseries, which will chronicle his journey of reportedly transitioning into a woman,” stated Variety magazine.

Variety story here.

--Image courtesy of Aloha Kendama @AlohaKendama on Twitter.