Families sue after four sorority sisters are killed on Malibu road called death-trap by celebrities like Rob Lowe
The families of four sorority girls who died on the Pacific Coast Highway are suing the California government over the tragedy, drawing more attention to a road that has been vilified by celebrities and drivers for years as a disaster.
Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams – all students at Pepperdine University – were struck and killed by a BMW driver in October 2023 along the Pacific Coast Highway in an area known locally as “Dead Man’s Curve.”
In 2015, award-winning actor Rob Lowe criticized Malibu authorities for their handling of the PCH after rapper MC Supreme was killed by a drunk driver on the PCH.
‘Malibu’s leadership has always been a disgrace. Exhibit A:’ he tweetedposting a quote on Twitter about the rapper’s death.
Filmmaker Michel Shane, who produced I, Robot and Catch Me If You Can, made 21 Miles in Malibu as a tribute to his 13-year-old daughter Emily, after she was hit by a manic driver while walking on the strip in 2010.
Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams were struck and killed by a BMW driver in October 2023 along the Pacific Coast Highway in an area known locally as ‘Dead Man’s Curve’
Their parents separately filed lawsuits in Santa Monica Superior Court against Los Angeles County, Malibu, Caltrans, the state of California and the California Coastal Commission.
The victims’ parents have now separately filed lawsuits in Santa Monica Superior Court against Los Angeles County, Malibu, Caltrans, the State of California and the California Coastal Commission.
They allege that the entities are jointly responsible for the road’s dangerous design and for their continued failure to implement better safety measures, ABC7.
“For far too long, the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu has been and continues to be unsafe for pedestrians and drivers. As a result of the defendants’ complacency, lives have been needlessly lost,” the families’ attorneys said in a joint statement.
The families hope the lawsuits will force the organizations to “do what they should have done a long time ago, so that no more lives are taken unnecessarily.”
The four Alpha Phi sisters were killed after the driver, Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, lost control of his vehicle while traveling northbound, crashing into a parked car before striking the students. A fifth person was also struck but survived.
Dead Man’s Curve — the specific section where they were struck — is a short stretch of the 21-mile highway between Las Flores Canyon and Carbon Canyon Roads. More than 50 deaths and nearly 100 serious incidents have occurred on that stretch of road from 2013 to 2023, ABC 7 reports.
Officials said a Pepperdine fraternity party was being held nearby and the victims were meeting up with others at the time of the tragedy.
Bohm, who escaped unharmed, faces four counts of murder, as well as four counts of manslaughter with gross negligence. He was released on $4 million bail in October 2023 after pleading not guilty to all charges.
The driver, Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, is charged with four counts of murder and four counts of criminally negligent homicide in a traffic accident.
The four Alpha Phi sisters were killed after Bohm lost control of his vehicle while driving northbound, crashing into a parked car and then hitting the students
His preliminary trial is expected to begin on October 9 at the Van Nuys courthouse, according to the Pepperdine University Graphic.
His trial is expected to begin in January.
According to her LinkedIn page, in addition to her studies at Pepperdine, Rolston also worked as a cheerleading and gymnastics coach, while Asha Weir was a writing teacher at the school in her spare time.
Peyton Stewart volunteered at a nursing home and interned at TikTok.
Deslyn Williams’ employer paid tribute to her in a heartbreaking Facebook post: “When you get the saddest news – 21 miles of devastation – a road full of heartache.”