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Driver Arrested In Crash That Killed 4 Charged With Murder
Debris is seen along the Pacific Coast Highway near where a crash killed four Pepperdine seniors.
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Ryan Sun
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AP
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A 22-year-old driver who authorities say caused a crash along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu that killed four Pepperdine students has been charged with four counts of murder, including vehicle manslaughter with gross negligence.
Fraser Bohm was arraigned Tuesday and pleaded not guilty. His initial bail of $8 million was reduced to $4 million.
Bohm was initially booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and was later released to allow for toxicology results, speed analysis and further investigation. He was re-arrested on Tuesday.
In a news conference on Tuesday, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon said Bohm was allegedly driving 104 mph in a 45 mph zone when he crashed into a parked car before hitting the four students. They were standing together on the side of the road.
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"We have seen a tremendous uptick nationally in the level of traffic related death in our country. We're seeing people driving at speeds that, quite frankly, were very uncommon years ago," Gascon said. "I understand that vehicles are faster, they're wider, but that is no excuse."
City council action
Since the crash, the city of Malibu is looking into taking actions to make the 21-mile long stretch of the highway safer.
During Monday's Malibu city council meeting, City Manager Steve McClary went over next steps.
"In addition to more CHP and sheriff's patrols, the city also supported successful legislation, which was signed by the governor just 10 days ago, that will open the door for speed cameras in the state of California. And the city is pushing to get those deployed as soon as possible," McClary said.
Currently, a pilot speed camera program is underway in the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Glendale.
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The city council is also looking into declaring a local state of emergency to address preventing future collisions along the highway. The idea was proposed by Councilmember Bruce Silverstein, who cited data from UC Berkley that found between 2018 and 2022, 25 people died along the PCH, 13 of them pedestrians.
Silverstein said the data demonstrate "that the dangerous conditions created by lawless motorists On PCH does constitute extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the territorial limits of Malibu."
Go deeper: 4 Pepperdine Students Were Killed in PCH Crash. Women Were All Seniors.
Updated October 25, 2023 at 2:48 PM PDT
This story was updated with additional information provided by the District Attorney's office.
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