Memorial honors students killed on PCH
The community gathered to erect a “ghost tire” memorial for Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams, the Pepperdine University students killed in a crash on Pacific Coast Highway in October.
“I lost my best friends. I lost my roommates. I lost my bridesmaids. I lost my maid of honor. I lost my sisters. I lost my everything,” said Bridget Thompson, who lived with the victims. “I stood there that night in a state of complete helplessness and I stand here in front of you today, unwilling to feel that sort of helplessness again, begging for a change to be made.”
Loved ones, community members, law enforcement officials, and members of Fix PCH all gathered near the intersection of PCH and Webb Way to dedicate the memorial and demand that Caltrans take immediate action to slow down traffic on PCH.
“On the evening of 17 October 2023, 20-year-old Niamh Rolston, 21-year-old Peyton Stewart, 21-year-old Asha Weir, and 21-year-old Deslyn Williams had just parked and were walking to a mixer at a home along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu known as ‘Dead Man’s Curve.’ At around 9 p. m., Fraser Michael Bohm was driving at 104 MPH when he lost control of his vehicle, hitting multiple parked cars before hitting and killing all four women, and injuring two others. While Fraser Michael Bohm has since been charged with four counts of murder and four counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, this doesn’t do anything to bring back the four individuals lost that day.
According to Fix PCH, there have been 58 fatalities along the highway, including Rolston, Stewart, Weir and Williams, since 2010. The community has been asking Caltrans for years to implement safety measures to reduce speeding.
