Loved ones call for safer conditions on Pacific Coast Highway
On World Remembrance Day, loved ones called for safer conditions on the Pacific Coast Highway, especially after four Pepperdine students were killed in a violent crash last month.
For the solemn day, demonstrators laid out dozens of white tires, each representing someone who died in a traffic collision on PCH in Malibu.
"As I look at the sea of 58 white tires, I feel a lot of different emotions," said Bridget Thompson, whose friends died in a crash last month.
Thompson's four best friends, Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams — all Pepperdine students, died last month.
"It needs to be fixed before it's your best friend, your sister, daughters," said Thompson.
Rolston's father spoke during the demonstration on Sunday morning. He said he would have celebrated his daughter's 21st birthday on Thanksgiving.
"And While I would tease her about this, she was such a good sport," said David Rolston. "Because Niamh was the type of child that didn't ask for or expect a lot of material things."
Many of the families and friends at the gathering believed that the four young women's deaths could have been avoided if authorities improved the roadway. They have all joined a community group called Fix PCH, which advocates for installing speed cameras, increased fines and lower speed limits.
Michael Shane is among the family members that have endured this push for improvements for over a decade since his daughter Emily was killed in a collision in 2010.
"We have been screaming and shouting to fix PCH forever — long before me. It's enough," said Shane.
The City and PCH task force met last week to address the immediate need for improvements.
In 2015, a study by the California Office of Traffic Safety showed there needed to be 130 improvements to this area of PCH. The City of Malibu has made several improvements.
KCAL News reached out to Caltrans to find out how many projects have been completed but has not heard back yet.
