Fraser Michael Bohm, speeding Malibu driver kills 4 Pepperdine University seniors after losing control of his BMW along Pacific Coast Highway. Fatal victims id as Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams.
Four Pepperdine University students were killed while walking along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, Tuesday night after they were struck by an out-of-control car as the driver sped along the strip of road, California police said.
The four women, who were all seniors, were fatally struck when a 22-year-old driver, Fraser Michael Bohm, of Malibu lost control of his dark gray 4 door BMW sedan and collided with three parked cars around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night on a notoriously treacherous stretch of the iconic highway, infamously known as ‘Dead Man’s Curve.’
The students were identified by Pepperdine school officials as Niamh Rolston, 20, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams on Wednesday. All four victims were in their 20’s, seniors at the university’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts.
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‘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. I join you in your grief as we process this profound loss,’ Pepperdine President Jim Gash told the school community in a statement.
Bohm was speeding as he drove westbound on the highway in his BMW when he lost control, smashed into several parked vehicles, which then in turn careened into a group of young women walking in the area, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday, KTLA reported.
All four women were pronounced dead at the scene. Another two females were taken to hospital, in unknown conditions cops said.
Witnesses reported Bohm getting out of the vehicle and being tackled to the ground by several people.
The 22 year old suffered minor scratches and bruises in the crash, the Times of SanDiego reported.
Bohm was arrested on charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. A DUI investigation is still pending, LASD said.
However, he was later released from custody due to lack of evidence, Fox 11 reported.
Prior reports told of Bohm potentially racing another vehicle at the time of the crash, with authorities saying only one vehicle was involved.
Imploring about the dangers of PCH
Sheriff’s Capt. Jennifer Seetoo, made an impassioned plea to the public to slow down while driving on PCH, saying the street is the scene of too many horrific crashes that have claimed lives in the past. She said the department is working with elected officials, ‘to make sure people are educated about the dangers of PCH, to slow down on PCH.’
Another unnamed local said that there are accidents every six months, and they are nearly always within a stretch of five to six houses.
‘They need to put flashers up … or put some road bumps, or lower it down to 35 miles per hour,’ she said.
‘Because nobody goes 45, everybody goes 55.’
The crash occurred roughly four miles north of Pepperdine’s picturesque coastal campus.
A prayer service has been scheduled for members of the Pepperdine community for Thursday at 10 a.m., the university said. Additional plans are in the works to hold a memorial service for each student.
‘In the days ahead, we will come together in meaningful ways to honor and celebrate the lives of the remarkable individuals lost to this unthinkable tragedy,’ Gash said
Anyone with information related to the crash was asked to call the traffic investigations office at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station at 818- 878-1808.
