Four Pepperdine University seniors were killed while meeting up with friends on Pacific West Highway (PCH) in Malibu, California.
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Jennifer Seetoo said in a press conference that the incident happened at around 8:30 p.m. on the 21600 block of the highway. Seetoo said that Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, “lost control of his vehicle” and “swerved toward the shoulder” of the north side of the highway.
His car collided with three parked cars, which then hit the four students standing on the side of the roadway by the vehicles. Officials said the students — who were there to meet up with other people — were pronounced dead at the scene.
Bohm, who suffered minor injuries from the crash, was arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. He was released pending further investigation into the crash. Sheriff deputies monitor the scene where four women were killed in a multi-vehicle crash in Malibu on October 18, 2023.
“The leading cause of collisions on PCH by far is speed,” Seetoo said, per NBC News. “It is a town — it is a college town.”
“There are too many people on this stretch of highway that have been killed,” she continued, per KTLA. She added: “We are working with the community … to make sure that people are educated about the dangers of PCH, and to slow down.”
Pepperdine University, which is located about four miles north from the crash site, identified the four female students who died in a news release as seniors Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams. Pepperdine University in Malibu on October 18, 2023.
“To the students who loved, lived with, and were in community with the departed members of our Pepperdine family, my heart is broken with yours,” said University President Jim Gash in a message to the Pepperdine community. “I join you in your grief as we process this profound loss.”
The University said it will hold a prayer service in honor of the four students on Thursday at 10 a.m. for members of the Pepperdine community.
“In this time of immeasurable grief and heartache, we stand together as a community and turn to our faith and each other to find hope and healing in the midst of this tragedy,” said Connie Horton, Vice President for Student Affairs.
“Each departed student brought a unique gift and spirit to the University, and we deeply grieve the unfulfilled hopes and aspirations of our precious community members,” she continued.
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Four lovely young women gone in an instant from a reckless driver. How sad for the parents, siblings, friends, and others who knew these auto victims. We will never know what contributions they might have made to our world. It shows there is no real safety.
There is no Pacific West Highway in Malibu. It is also referred to as PCH in this article, which is Pacific Coast Highway. The speed limit around the 21600 block is 45 MPH, but for a car to lose control and hit parked cars hard enough to drive them into people standing by the side of the roadway, the car would have to have been travelling considerably faster than 45.