‘Ghost tire’ memorial honors 4 Pepperdine students killed in PCH crash

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.

MALIBU, Calif. - As the sun set in Malibu, family and friends of the four Pepperdine students killed in a horrific crash one month ago signed and decorated four ‘Ghost Tires’ in their honor, before nailing them into the grass.

"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.

Asha Weir, Peyton Stewart, Deslyn Williams, Niamh Roland were killed in the tragic crash on PCH.

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Fix PCH Action Team (also known as Fix PCH) is a coalition of concerned Malibu residents, civic leaders, and the non–profit road safety advocacy organization Streets Are For Everyone, which released the following:

"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.

Any single loss of a loved one and community member due to a preventable traffic collision is tragic. The loss of four in one incident is horrific, but these preventable collisions are made worse by the fact that the short stretch of PCH that travels through residential and business areas of Malibu has been known for decades as a dangerous road with vehicles regularly doing 60-80 MPH and sometimes well over 100."

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.

Bohm, the man charged with the four women's murders, was released on bail on Oct. 27.