The Range Rover allegedly driven by a 16-year-old who crashed into a parked car and killed a beloved Nobu Malibu chef was leased by acclaimed Hollywood composer Harry Gregson-Williams, according to a report.
DMV records reviewed by The California Post reportedly show that the 2026 Land Rover involved in the fatal collision was leased by Gregson-Williams, 64. The British-born composer has written scores for some of the most prominent films of the past 30 years.
The Daily Mail has not independently verified the records.
The Post reported that it remained unclear what relationship the 16-year-old driver had with Gregson-Williams or how he came to be behind the wheel of the luxury SUV when it crashed into the vehicle belonging to Nobu chef Ryo Uchimiya, 51, on Pacific Coast Highway early Saturday morning.
Gregson-Williams, whose credits include Shrek, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Martian and Gladiator II, offered only a brief comment about the tragedy when contacted by The California Post.
“This family is grieving just as the other family,” he said.
Only two days before the fatal crash, Gregson-Williams had been photographed with his family at the Los Angeles premiere of Animals, a new Netflix thriller directed by and starring Ben Affleck.
The composer recently reunited with Affleck to create the film’s score. He attended Thursday’s star-studded premiere with Affleck, Matt Damon and Kerry Washington.
By Saturday morning, the Range Rover leased in Gregson-Williams’ name had become central to a devastating collision outside one of Malibu’s best-known restaurants.
The Daily Mail has contacted Gregson-Williams for further comment.
Hollywood composer Harry Gregson-Williams, pictured last Thursday, leased the Range Rover involved in the fatal crash that killed Nobu Malibu chef Ryo Uchimiya
The 16-year-old driver’s Range Rover is pictured beside the mangled wreckage after the devastating Pacific Coast Highway crash that killed longtime Nobu chef Ryo Uchimiya
Horrifying surveillance video captured the SUV striking the rear of Uchimiya’s parked sedan at approximately 6:50 a.m.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators believe the teenager had been speeding before losing control and crashing into Uchimiya’s vehicle.
The force of the impact pushed the chef’s car into two other parked vehicles, triggering a chain-reaction crash.
Uchimiya had worked at Nobu Malibu for about 25 years. He was in the back seat of his car and was believed to have been sleeping before beginning his shift at the restaurant.
“He was resting, getting ready for a catering gig,” a fellow Nobu chef said. “We all get here really early.”
The Los Angeles County medical examiner said Uchimiya suffered multiple blunt-force injuries and died at the scene. His death was ruled an accident.
Authorities have identified the teenage driver, but his name has not been released because he is a minor.
No charges have been announced, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Police tape cordoned off the scene outside Nobu Malibu after the teenage driver slammed into Uchimiya’s parked car as the chef rested inside before work
Nobu Malibu is a celebrity-favorite Japanese restaurant overlooking the Pacific Ocean, where Uchimiya had worked as a sushi chef for 25 years before his death
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Restaurant staff often park along the highway outside the restaurant rather than the venue’s parking lot. The restaurant was closed on Saturday following the accident
Uchimiya had worked as a sushi chef at celebrity hotspot Nobu Malibu for 25 years, with devastated colleagues remembering the father-of-two as a kind and talented chef
Authorities have said there was no indication the boy was under the influence at the time of the collision.
One witness described seeing the teenager looking stunned and confused in the aftermath.
‘I heard throughout the day that maybe he didn’t even have a license,’ she said. ‘He’s a young kid. He looked very young and very confused and his parents didn’t even show up to find him. He was sitting there for two hours by himself.’
The ferocity of the impact left Uchimiya’s colleagues struggling to comprehend what had happened.
‘Guy must have been flying,’ one fellow chef said. ‘Out of all the parked cars out here, why did it have to be this one?’
A neighbor who heard the collision said emergency crews arrived roughly 11 minutes later, but several more minutes passed before rescuers discovered Uchimiya trapped inside the wreckage.
‘I heard them say, “There’s someone in here,”‘ the neighbor recalled.
‘It took about nine minutes for them to cut into the car and get him out.’
Uchimiya’s death has devastated the tight-knit staff at Nobu Malibu, the celebrity magnet overlooking the Pacific where he had spent a quarter of a century.
Several badly damaged vehicles could be seen along Pacific Coast Highway after the impact sent Uchimiya’s car crashing into other parked vehicles in a chain-reaction smash
The crash occurred on a notoriously dangerous stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway
Nobu Malibu was closed on Saturday as stunned staff mourned their longtime colleague. Flowers and handwritten messages were later left outside the restaurant.
‘Obviously, it’s been a very, very difficult day for so many people,’ the restaurant’s manager told KTLA, saying its ‘family of staffers’ was supporting Uchimiya’s loved ones.
‘He was a real nice guy, very talented chef,’ a coworker said. ‘It’s such a shame.’
Steven Zaw, a friend whose children attended the same school as Uchimiya’s, remembered him as an avid skier and climber as well as a gifted chef.
‘He’s an amazing human being, great skier. Taught his kids how to ski. We went on a lot of ski trips together,’ Zaw said.
‘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.’
Uchimiya leaves behind his wife and two sons.
The stretch of Pacific Coast Highway running through Malibu where the accident occurred is notorious for accidents.
The 21-mile section has averaged around four crash-related deaths every year over the past decade.