Community members gathered Thursday evening to remember the four Pepperdine University students who were hit and killed by a vehicle on Pacific Coast Highway.
The candlelight vigil was part of a day of mourning that began with a prayer service on campus Thursday morning.
Students, faculty, friends and loved ones mourned the four young women who were seniors at Pepperdine’s Seaver College of Liberal Arts.
Andrew Choi, a senior at Pepperdine, said many classes were canceled as students grieved and processed the loss.
“The entire campus is definitely feeling it,” Choi said.
The four Pepperdine University students, Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams, were killed Tuesday evening after authorities say a speeding driver hit them on PCH roughly four miles east of the school around 8:30 p.m.
The wreck happened on a stretch of road known to locals as “Dead Man’s Curve.”
Malibu Mayor Steve Uhring says he plans to petition the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for help with patrols. He said he’s also reached out to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office regarding speed cameras.
“I think we’ve got a case that says deaths on PCH are serious enough,” Uhring said. “We have to do something.”
During the morning prayer service, Tim Spivey, associate vice president for spiritual life at Pepperdine, said words could not properly convey the sorrow the community was feeling.
“This morning, we gather as a community in grief,” Spivey said. “The only words I have for you in the midst of this terrible storm are [Jesus’] words, ‘Peace I leave you, my peace I give you.’”
The university also announced that the four women would be eligible to receive posthumous degrees.
“It is my great pleasure as the university’s chief academic officer to note that all four of these students are qualified to receive this honor in the class of 2024,” Provost Jay Brewster announced at the prayer service.
The driver, identified as 22-year-old Fraser Michael Bohm, faces gross vehicular manslaughter charges. According to authorities, Bohm was released from custody the day after the deadly crash, pending further investigation.