A car fatally struck four college seniors Tuesday after the driver lost control on a Malibu highway, according to authorities.
The sedan struck four female students from Pepperdine University while they were standing on the side of Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) around 8:30 p.m., the Los Angeles County Police Department said, according to NBC News. The sedan crashed into three parked vehicles before hitting the victims, identified by the university as Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams.
Pepperdine University says four of its students were killed on the side of a roadway in Malibu, California, after a 22-year-old driver lost control of his vehicle. https://t.co/U6rSzIs9Gw
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 19, 2023
“Earlier today, we learned that four precious lives who brought joy and life to our campus were taken from us suddenly, tragically, and incomprehensibly,” Pepperdine president Jim Gash said in a letter to the community.
Police arrested Fraser Michael Bohm, a 22-year-old Malibu resident, on charges of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, sheriff’s Capt. Jennifer Seetoo said in a Wednesday morning news conference. The PCH is considered “deadly” due to reckless drivers, Seetoo explained. (RELATED: Three 15-Year-Olds Die After Crash Car Into House)
“The leading cause of collisions on PCH by far is speed,” Seetoo said. “It is a town — it is a college town.”
First responders declared all victims dead at the scene, the outlet reported. Bohm suffered minor injuries from the crash and has been released.
The investigation into the crash remains ongoing.