The city Monday put a spotlight on safety initiatives both enacted and planned along Pacific Coast Highway in the two years since four Pepperdine University seniors were killed by a motorist allegedly speeding on the curvy coastal route.
In a statement Monday, the city noted this past Friday's events to mark the second anniversary of the deaths of Niamh Rolston, 20; Peyton Stewart, 21; Asha Weir, 21; and Deslyn Williams, 21.
Malibu officials joined state officials, law enforcement and traffic-safety advocates Friday to honor their memory and discuss efforts to improve safety along PCH.
A news conference, followed by a remembrance event at the Ghost Tires Memorial placed at the site of the Oct. 17, 2023 nighttime crash, brought together family and friends of the students.
All four women were seniors at Pepperdine's Seaver College of Liberal Arts and members of the Alpha Phi sorority. They were set to graduate with Pepperdine's class of 2024, and subsequently received their degrees posthumously.
"Two years ago, we lost four bright young women whose lives were full of promise," said Malibu Councilmember Doug Stewart. "Their loss changed our community forever, and it also became a turning point. Since that day, Malibu has been united in one purpose: to make PCH safer for everyone. We've made real progress, but we're not done. Every improvement, every law, and every enforcement effort honors their memory by preventing future tragedies."
Malibu city officials said improvements include Senate Bill 1297, allowing automated speed camera systems on PCH in Malibu, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law in September 2024. Up to 10 cameras in five locations will be installed at high-risk sites on PCH to help reduce speeding and reckless driving with completion expected early next year, officials said.
Also, the city said it has signed a contract to bring back patrols by the California Highway Patrol on PCH in Malibu for the first time since the city's incorporation, with a three-officer task force patrolling seven days a week. Together with Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department patrols, which also ramped up after the tragedy, the increased traffic enforcement has resulted in a nearly 22% reduction in injury collisions since the deaths, city officials said.
After the tragedy, Caltrans announced that $4.2 million were approved for multiple short-term safety upgrades to PCH infrastructure Those include short- and long-term fixes, with lane separators to prevent vehicles from drifting into oncoming traffic or making illegal turns, crosswalk striping at all locations for increased visibility for drivers and pedestrians, more visible road striping, and additional speed limit and curve warning signs.
The city said a traffic signal synchronization project was completed in September. The project connected traffic signals from Topanga Canyon Boulevard to John Tyler Drive, synchronizing them with real-time conditions, centrally controlled by the Caltrans Traffic Management Center.
Current data verified by LASD traffic teams over Malibu streets confirmed 154 total collisions in 2025 compared to 357 for all of 2024 -- a 50% decline. The data confirm no fatalities for 2025, which adds urgency and vigilance to enforcement teams approaching the coming holiday season. Two fatal collisions occurred in 2024, according to the city.
The suspected driver in the multiple fatality crash, Fraser Bohm, now 24, of Malibu, was ordered to stand trial on murder and vehicular manslaughter charges for allegedly speeding when he crashed into three parked vehicles on PCH -- killing the four Pepperdine sorority sisters.
Sheriff's officials said Bohm swerved onto the north shoulder of westbound PCH and slammed into three vehicles parked alongside on the roadway. Those parked vehicles struck the four Pepperdine students, leaving them dead at the scene, according to the sheriff's department.
That section of PCH -- a short stretch between Las Flores Canyon and Carbon Canyon roads -- is known as "Dead Man's Curve" and reportedly has seen the highest number of auto accidents on the overall 21-mile coastal road.
The tragedy prompted numerous calls to remedy the dangers and minimize speeds along that section of PCH. No safeguards were in place for pedestrians at the crash scene, even though the city has known about the dangers for decades, lawyers for the students' parents say.