“Since COVID there has been an increase of incredible racing up and down this highway, all night long,” said Joan Zoloth, who lives in Malibu. “People in the community have complained and are really concerned. And then you have something like this.”
Something like this was a Tuesday night crash on Pacific Coast Highway that killed four Pepperdine University students. It was reported around 8:30 p.m. Investigators believe 22-year-old Fraser Bohm was heading west when he lost control and hit at least three parked vehicles, which then struck the group of women standing at the roadside. Sheriff’s Capt. Jennifer Seetoo said they were “four female adults” and that all were “pronounced dead at the scene.” Two other people were rushed to a hospital. Bohm suffered scratches and bruises and was taken into custody.
Pepperdine named the victims as Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams. All four were seniors at Seaver College and Alpha Phi sorority sisters, and all were in their 20s. Rolston was from Los Angeles and studied business. Her father said she was “always full of life.” Weir, from Philadelphia, studied English. Stewart came from New York and was also a business student, and Williams grew up in a suburb of Atlanta and hoped to become a veterinarian.
Arrested, released, then charged
Bohm was first booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, then let go hours later. The Sheriff’s Department said it released him “to allow detectives time to gather the evidence needed to secure the strongest criminal filing and conviction.”
That evidence arrived. Investigators collected toxicology results, search warrants and speed analyses before handing the case to the district attorney on Monday. Bohm was re-arrested the next night on suspicion of four counts of murder. District Attorney George Gascon said Bohm faces four counts of malice murder and four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter. Law enforcement sources said Bohm was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but his car’s onboard computer showed 104 mph before he lost control. Those sources said he also told investigators he knew the road and the posted 45-mph limit.
“When you are driving at 104 mph in [a] 45-mph [zone], the only conclusion is you have a complete disregard for life,” Gascon said.
Bohm pleaded not guilty in a Van Nuys courtroom and remained in jail on $4 million bail.
His attorney, Michael Kraut, disputed the speed. He said the evidence showed 70 mph at most, and that another driver “came into the lane and clipped him.” He described the crash as a road-rage incident. “My client was getting away from the guy chasing him,” Kraut told The Times. A sheriff’s sergeant, Jim Arens, said he had “no evidence” of road rage. Kraut also accused prosecutors of rushing a filing under political pressure.
A road residents call dangerous
Between 2018 and 2022, according to state traffic records, Malibu had 24 deadly crashes that killed 25 people. All but two of the crashes were on PCH. “There’s no sidewalks,” resident Chris Hanson said. “You get a lot of bike riders, you get a lot of pedestrians. And there’s no place for them to go but around vehicles.”
Nearly 30 people spoke at a Malibu City Council meeting the following Monday. The council voted unanimously to ask staff for a report and to consider declaring an emergency. Seetoo told the council that speaking with families was “one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do as a police officer.” Mayor Steve Uhring called the highway “a racetrack” and asked for more help from the state.
Pepperdine held a prayer service at Firestone Fieldhouse on Thursday morning. Provost Jay Brewster said all four women qualified for degrees at the end of the academic year.
Sources
- 22-year-old arrested after 4 Pepperdine students killed in multi-car crash on PCH in Malibu
- Driver sped at 104 mph in Malibu crash that killed 4 Pepperdine students, D.A. says
- Driver arrested in Malibu crash that killed four students
Sources
- PCH Malibu California crash: 22-year-old arrested after 4 Pepperdine…
- Driver struck Pepperdine students at speed of 104 mph, D.A. says…
