Seems the word from EMTs on the scene said he was lucid and calm.
Alcohol doesn't seem to be indicated.
I've been on that road a bit as
@Tano has.
It's slick like goose shit with the dew which once evaporated, you'd never know. That's because like lots of SoCal roads, the little bit of moisture brings out the oils enough to make things slick, but not enough to wash anything away. That's why the first good rain of the wet season is just nonsense on the roads.
Rancho Palos Verdes is a very wealthy enclave, so they keep the roads nice...and newer roads can actually get slicker with the morning dew. This was a big issue when I would ride my morning rides all along the Santa Monica bay area while training for triathlon. My big crash on Sunset, that's what happened. Went from grooved asphalt to blacktop and the morning dew turned the blacktop super slick and I slid into oncoming traffic...at 30mph. So I can personally attest that the dew can be a real issue. The lack of skid marks lends credence to this being a possibility.
Couple that with animals (you do get trash pandas and other wildlife in that area), running late, pain meds and distraction and yeah... any number of things could have led to that crash.
It's even worse heading north on PCH out of RPV because it comes down in elevation a fair bit and then bends to the left, pretty sharply. I've seen the guard rails as PCH enters Redondo Beach from Rancho Palos Verdes down there and oof... some big wrecks.
