22-year-old Fraser Michael Bohm is facing charges of manslaughter on the death of four women who were reported to be Pepperdine University students.
LASD Captain Jennifer Seetoo held a press conference today at the sheriffs headquarters to provide an update on the incident.
“Let me start off first with just sending my condolences to the families that we’re impacted with the traffic collision that occured last night here in Malibu, this is an ongoing investigation and detectives are investigating this,” Seetoo said. “Preliminary investigations have revealed that the suspect Fraser Michael Bohm was driving a driving a dark gray four door sedan was traveling westbound on Pacific Coast Highway when he lost control of his vehicle and swerved towards the shoulder of the north side of Pacific Coast Highway.”
The collision happened at about 8:30 p.m. on the Pacific Coast Highway near Carbon Canyon Road, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Seetoo said Bohm hit the four female adults standing on the side of the highway. The women were pronounced dead on the scene.
“The suspect was arrested for vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence,” Seetoo said. “The identity of the deceased will be released by the coroners office once the identity’s have been determined.”
According to the LASD detective, Bohm was released with minor injuries. There was no other vehicle involved. Sheriffs said a DUI investigation was conducted but is still an ongoing investigation. Officials were asked if Bohm was a Malibu local or Pepperdine student himself but said it was an ongoing investigation.
“With this tragedy we need to really talk about Malibu and PCH, with me today is producer Michel Shane who’s daughter Emily Shane was also a victim on PCH in Malibu,” Seetoo said. “We’ve got to work together as a community, there’s too many people that on this stretch of highway, that have been killed, and that is why we are working with our partners with our community, with people like Michel Shane who just produced a movie called “21 Miles in Malibu” that talks about the deaths on PCH, we’ve got to bring awareness to this.”
Shane attended the press conference to answer questions on his film but also said he hopes people drive smarter.
“We’re trying to make awareness, we’re coming up to elections and that’s when the voice of the cities can make a change,” Shane said. “We all have places to go but at the same time we have to drive smarter, that’s what we have to do now is educate people, not just that speed kills, but people kill.”
Pepperdine University released a statement this morning.
“After receiving the tragic news of a fatal accident near the Malibu campus last night, the University has a reason to believe the four individuals were who were killed on Pacific Coast Highway were Seaver College students,” the press release states. “The university is in contact with authorities and will assist with the notifications of family members when we have confirmation. Therefore, we will provide additional information to the Pepperdine community. In this time of immeasurable grief and unimaginable heartache, we stand together as aa community and turn to our faith and each other for comfort in the midst of despair.”
Seetoo said the department is working with state officials to bring awareness on speeding, enforcement and urging drivers to slow down.
“Right now we’re looking at speed cameras, we have to look at law enforcement differently, we’ve got to change with the times where technology is an option and these speed cameras will be in six cities starting in 2024,” Seetoo said. “We’ve got keep our eyes in this technology because we believe that it will save lives, we’ve got to do something about it. PCH is deadly we’ve lost way too many people on PCH. It’s a highway that runs through a city and a college town.”
To view the full 15 minute press conference visit our Instagram account: