At 5 p.m. on April 3, 2010, he was one person.
“And at 6 p.m. I was another. I am forever to be that other,” said Michel Shane, Pacific Coast Highway advocate and film producer.
April 3, 2010 was a regular day for Shane. He said he walked to the intersection of PCH and Heathercliff Road to pick up his youngest daughter, 13-year-old Emily Shane, when an EMT told him the worst news a parent could hear. The flipped-over car Michel Shane saw was from a suicidal driver who struck and killed Emily Shane.
This changed the trajectory of Michel Shane’s life. He said if someone told him in 2026 that he would be an advocate, he would not have believed it.
“I would have laughed,” Michel Shane said. “I would have said, ‘Are you kidding?’”
Michel Shane said he has made a commitment to honor Emily by doing everything in his control to make sure no parent ever has to experience what he did 16 years ago.
Michel Shane Finds Beauty and Danger in Malibu
Michel Shane was born in Montreal and moved to Malibu in 1996 to work in the film industry. In the film world, he is best known for executive producing “Catch Me If You Can“ and “I, Robot,“ according to IMDb.
“I went from Montreal to Malibu, skied in Mammoth, had a car with an ‘M’ in it,” Michel Shane said. “Everything was ‘M.’ If it was ‘M,’ we went.”
When Michel Shane and his family moved to Malibu, he said he acknowledged its natural beauty.
“This is paradise,” Michel Shane said.
With that being said, driving on the local roads made him nervous, especially as a father. Michel Shane said he bought a used car with a steel frame for his oldest daughter.
“So if a bus hit her, the bus would crash and her car would still be in one piece,” Michel Shane said.
Despite all of the safety precautions Michel Shane took, his worst nightmare still occurred.
Once Emily died, Michel Shane said he made it his mission to be known for more than his films. He wanted to take on another title, one he viewed as far more important: advocate.
Michel Shane said his experience with film benefited him when it came to advocacy.
“I understand messaging,” Michel Shane said. “I understand how to get the message out.”
The two worlds combined when he created the documentary “21 Miles in Malibu.” The documentary follows the story of PCH and the people who have been impacted by it, Michel Shane said.
Michel Shane Becomes the ‘Godfather of PCH’
Michel Shane offers more than just complaints to city and California Department of Transportation officials, he said.
“I don’t just complain,” Michel Shane said. “I identify the problem, and then I’ll offer what I believe could be solutions.”
One way Michel Shane accomplishes this is through his column in the Malibu Times, where he directly addresses specific issues and provides possible solutions.
He also spoke to the California Senate regarding SB-1297, a bill allowing the installation of five automated speed safety cameras in Malibu, according to the CalMatters website.
One issue Michel Shane said greatly concerned him was how CalTrans was going to paint bike lanes on PCH, but the bike lanes did not include any other form of protection.
“I mean logically, are you nuts?” Michel Shane said. “Just because there is a little paint there, it’s now safe?”
Once again, Michel Shane did not just complain; he said he proved his concern.
“I went to Holland, went to England and went to Asia to see how they are dealing with this,” Michel Shane said. “I got all of that information, synthesized it and came up with something that fits here.”
This attitude has created real change on PCH, and Michel Shane said he will use it as he continues to fight for a safer highway.
Remembering Emily Shane
Instead of running away from the tragedy, Michel Shane said he welcomes talking about Emily.
“I love to share about Emily,” Michel Shane said as he looked at a photograph of her.
Michel Shane’s imagination will occasionally wander, and he said he thinks about what could have been.
“In my mind, Emily is always 13,” Michel Shane said. “If you think about it in a realistic sense of the word, she’s 28 now.”
Michel Shane said he asks himself questions he will never get the answer to.
“Would she still be in dance?” Michel Shane said. “Just because you dance when you’re 13 doesn’t mean it’s something you’re gonna do when you’re 28.”
As well as reminiscing, Michel Shane said a way to honor Emily’s legacy is through the Emily Shane Foundation. The foundation takes middle school students who are struggling and pairs them with university-age students.
“They become their big brother — big sister,” Michel Shane said.
The pairs meet twice a week for a minimum of an hour, Michel Shane said.
The cost for a child to participate?
“They have to do a good deed,” Michel Shane said.
Michel Shane said this creates good people and good citizens, something he describes Emily as.
Michel Offers Advice to ‘Our Girls’ Loved Ones
The deaths of ‘Our Girls,’ Asha Weir, Deslyn Williams, Niamh Rolston and Peyton Stewart, on Oct. 17, 2023 were a wake-up call for local and state officials. ‘Our Girls’ were standing on the side of PCH when they were struck and killed when a speeding driver ran into parked cars, according to NBC News.
“It took what happened to those four Pepperdine women to bring an awareness that ‘Oh my God, there really is a problem,’” Michel Shane said.
This tragedy had a great impact on Michel Shane, he said.
“For us [the Shane family], it was brutal because we relieved her [Emily’s] death,” Michel Shane said.
The deaths of Asha Weir, Deslyn Williams, Niamh Rolston and Peyton Stewart, which Michel Shane said happened for “no good reason,” angered him and made him reflect.
“I want to do more,” Michel Shane said.
Michel Shane said he reached out to each of the girls’ parents to offer support.
“I said to each one of them, ‘Whatever you need,’” Michel said.
“You’re in year 2,” Michel Shane said. “I’m in year 16. It’s a long road.”
From his personal experience, Michel Shane said everyone takes their own route, and there is no wrong way.
“You have to decide on how you want to do it,” Michel Shane said.
Imagining a Perfect PCH
Along with imagining what could have been, Michel Shane said he wonders what could be. He said he imagines what PCH would look like with no red tape, no monetary limitations or complaints.
“The big issue with PCH is it’s misnamed,” Michel Shane said. “Pacific Coast Highway. Highway. A roadway.”
Michel Shane said there are portions that should remain a highway, but there are “huge” stretches that should be a boulevard, especially from Los Flores Canyon Road to the northern end of Pepperdine.
“These should be controlled environments,” Michel Shane said.
Another aspect of Michel Shane’s perfect PCH relies on education.
“The real issue is we don’t teach young enough,” Michel Shane said.
Michel Shane said the Emily Shane Foundation partnered with AAA at the Malibu Middle School to teach kids about basic road safety.
Michel Shane said he hopes to continue putting on events like these in the future.
Package aired live on NewsWaves 32 on Feb. 10
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Contact Emma Martinez via email: emma.martinez@pepperdine.edu or by Instagram: @emmamartinezreports