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4 Pepperdine students killed in Malibu crash honored with posthumous degrees by the university

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Updated  October 25, 2023 7:18pm PDT
Malibu
FOX 11

Pepperdine remembers students killed in crash

Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Deslyn Williams and Asha Weir, all seniors at Pepperdine's Seaver College of Liberal Arts, were killed in a violent crash on Pacific Coast Highway last week.

MALIBU, Calif. - The four Pepperdine students killed in the Malibu crash on Pacific Coast Highway last week will be honored with posthumous degrees alongside their graduating class of 2024, the university announced Wednesday. Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams were all seniors at the university's Seaver College of Liberal Arts.

"We deeply grieve the unfulfilled hopes and aspirations of these bright young women," the university said in a statement.

The tragic crash happened Tuesday, Oct 17, around 8:30 p.m. when the suspect, 22-year-old Fraser Michael Bohm, reportedly lost control of his BMW. Bohm slammed into three parked cars before ricocheting and fatally striking the victims, who officials said were standing on the side of the road, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The university honored the four women in their weekly #WavesWednesday social media campaign, where they highlighted each of the student's individual achievements.

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

According to the post, Rolston was business administration major planning to pursue her MBA, Stewart was an international business major who served as the vice president of finance for her sorority, Weir was an English major who served as an orientation leader at the school and Williams was a pre-med biology major and part of the school's pre-veterinary club.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

All four women were active sorority sisters with the school's Alpha Phi sorority.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Deadly Malibu crash raises PCH concerns

The 22-year-old suspect was driving a dark gray four-door sedan west on PCH when he lost control and swerved onto the north shoulder of the highway and collided with three parked vehicles. Three women were killed in the crash.

Sheriff's officials said the driver was initially booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence on the day of the crash, but jail records showed he was released from custody around 7:20 a.m. Wednesday, citing California Penal Code Section 849(b)-1, which states that a suspect can be released from custody if there are insufficient grounds for making a criminal complaint against the person arrested. Sheriff's officials said the investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Bohm was rearrested Tuesday, Oct. 24 and charged with four counts of murder. His bail was reduced from $8 million to $4 million.