The families of the four Pepperdine University students who were struck and killed on Pacific Coast Highway last year and a fifth student who was injured in the incident have sued local and state agencies they say are responsible for the deadly highway.
In four separate lawsuits filed in the Santa Monica courthouse, the families are class-action suing the state of California, the California Department of Transportation, the California Coastal Commission, Los Angeles County and the city of Malibu, alleging that the PCH is dangerously designed and that officials failed to implement adequate safety measures. Injured student Carlos Solloa was joined in the lawsuit filed by the families of two of the students who died.
In October 2023, four Pepperdine seniors who were Alpha Phi sorority sisters (Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir, and Deslyn Williams) were killed when a car traveling over 100 mph struck them while they were standing next to parked cars on a stretch of road known as “Dead Man's Curve.”
“For too long, the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu has been, and continues to be, unsafe for pedestrians and drivers alike,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys said in a joint statement, adding: “As a result of defendants’ complacency, too many lives have been needlessly lost.”
Spokespeople for the Coastal Commission and Caltrans said the agencies cannot comment on pending litigation.
“We understand the legal actions the families have filed in their quest for accountability, and the city respects their right to seek justice,” the city of Malibu said in a statement. “While we cannot comment on the specifics of the ongoing litigation, we would like to reaffirm our long-standing commitment to improving safety on PCH for both residents and visitors.”
Santo Riccobono, who represents Peyton Stewart’s mother, Carmela Stewart, told The Times: “Unfortunately, in our society, the only way we can create change and really bring people’s attention to certain issues is by filing lawsuits.”
The city of Malibu approved a PCH safety study in 2015 that outlined 130 projects aimed at improving safety on the 21-mile stretch of highway.
“They have only completed seven of the 130 projects,” Riccobono said. “We believe that if they had completed all the projects they set out to do, these girls would still be alive today.”
Carmela Stewart's brother died at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, Riccobono said, leading her and her husband to decide: “Life is short, we should have a baby.” That was Peyton's opinion.
“The life of her little daughter was cut short and we want, we need, a change so that this does not happen to any other daughter in the future,” she said.
The collision that claimed the lives of the four women and shocked the Malibu community was the deadliest pedestrian-vehicle accident in Los Angeles County since 2012, according to data from the UC Berkeley Transportation Injury Mapping System.
Malibu has spent $39 million in road safety improvement projects Along the roadway, a bike path at Zuma Beach and a “stop bed” to stop out-of-control vehicles have been added. Additionally, the city has added a crosswalk and traffic signal and made improvements to the median and intersections.
$8 million has also been set aside for a traffic signal synchronization project, which will coordinate signals on PCH from Topanga Canyon Boulevard to John Tyler Drive. The project, which began in early 2023 and is scheduled to be completed in 2025, will have the signals controlled by the Caltrans Traffic Management Center.
This year, Malibu has also invested in a public education campaign to encourage drivers to slow down when traveling on PCH.
In addition to the city’s efforts, Caltrans allocated $4.2 million last December to move forward with a preliminary list of 30 improvements, including improved curve striping, optical speed bars (lines painted on the road at increasingly shorter intervals to make drivers aware of their speed), speed feedback signs, pavement speed limit markings and replacement of safety corridor signs.
What the city and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Malibu/Los Hills station want are speed cameras, another tool they say will slow drivers in the beachfront community.
Senate Bill 1297, which the Legislature passed this year and is awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature, would allow the city of Malibu to install five camera systems to monitor drivers’ speeds.
