Three days after four Pepperdine University students were struck and killed by a speeding car, three community members gathered on Topanga Canyon and PCH to protest and demand of safety improvements along the Pacific Coast Highway.
Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams died Tuesday evening when authorities say a speeding driver hit them on PCH roughly four miles east of the Pepperdine campus.
50 year Malibu resident Ted Vaill organized the last minute protest and had the support from Gina Muscatel from the Malibu Democratic Club and former Public Works Commissioner Lance Simmens. Despite the small turnout, the discussion is anticipated to continue during City Council meeting on Monday night.
“I’ve had several times where I’ve almost been killed here, this is the last straw, you can’t have killings like this go on in our city, and something has to be been done, the City of Malibu has been doing the best that they can, it’s got to be Caltrans, the County and maybe even CHP patrolling the highway, there’s got to be more work done to protect these 21 miles of land,” Vaill said. “It touched me completely where four innocent students—their lives are just beginning and it was taken away from them by some stupid kid who was driving his BMW at too fast of speed. Sorry about that kid, but ‘you live with your mistakes’ and he’s going to lives with his mistakes for the rest of his life.”
The driver was identified as 22-year-old Fraser Michael Bohm who is facing manslaughter charges. The LASD Sheriffs Department said Bohm has been released from custody on Tuesday morning pending further investigation.
Many Malibu residents have begun reaching out to The Malibu Times, offering their condolences to the families and friends impacted and expressed their concerns with what needs to be done to prevent this from happening again.
“The problem, as I see it, and I think as the City of Malibu sees it, is that they have spent almost $40 million to solve the problem, plus $15 million per year for the Sheriff, and the problem must be solved by CalTrans, the County, and possibly bringing in CHP to help stop the speeding, as well as coordinating the traffic lights and speed photos to inhibit speeders,” Vaill said.
Vaill said the city recently released a list of projects, but says this has to go beyond the city.
“Our city is controlled by the state, the county, beaches, and it’s just something that has to be done at a bigger level than the city,” Vaill said. “The city has done everything they can, I don’t blame them for this, I do blame the state, Caltrans and the absence of CHP for not being here and supporting the people and protecting us.”
Former Public Works Commissioner Lance Simmens has years of public safety experience and submitted a redesign package of proposed projects to The Malibu Times a few hours before heading to the protest on Friday and will be presenting it at the City Council meeting on Monday night.
“The key to at least attempting to solve the public safety dilemma is to solve two major issues: one, congestion and limited space, and two the speed factor, make no mistake about it, speed kills,” Simmens said. “Worldwide, congested cities are reorienting their views of transportation projects. Many communities are actively promoting bicycle lanes to encourage safe transportation options rather than using automobiles, both electric and gasoline powered vehicles.”
“We can use this presentation as an initial proposal for discussion, but these discussions are necessary immediately in light of the tragedy of this past week,” he said.
Pepperdine will be honoring the lives of Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir, and Deslyn Williams on Sunday, October 22, at 2 p.m. in the Firestone Fieldhouse. The service will be open for the Pepperdine Community.
Malibu City Council will meet on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. at the Council Chambers.