Thursday marks one year since four Pepperdine University students were struck and killed in a high-speed crash along Pacific Coast Highway.
On Oct. 17, 2023, Niahm Rolston, Peyton Stewert, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams, were walking in Malibu towards a home on PCH to meet their sorority sisters when a car traveling at a high speed veered onto the shoulder of the road and slammed into three parked cars. Authorities said one of the parked cars hit the women, killing them.
Pepperdine students, including the slain women’s sorority sisters and friends, continue to grieve their deaths while trying to honor their legacy by fixing the dangerous roadway where they were killed.
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A year without their best friends
It may have been a year since the deadly crash, but Pepperdine Alpha Phi sisters are still honoring the lasting impacts the four students left behind while struggling to cope with pain and grief.
“I'll never understand this,” said Hannah Allen, the best friend of Deslyn Williams, “I don’t know how I got through this year. My junior year was a complete blur just because of losing them.”
Allen recalled every day she spent with Deslyn, sitting on Allen’s porch planning their years ahead – together.
“We would just talk about our future all the time,” said Allen. “She was going to plan my wedding and be a bridesmaid. We had our whole future planned for our families that don't even exist yet.”
Georgia Puckett, Vice President of New Member Education and Membership Experience for Alpha Phi and a good friend of the late students, said she's tried to live more like her sisters did.
“They were able to teach me to be authentically myself and not apologize for that,” Puckett said. “That is something I continue to try to live with every single day – living how they lived their lives because they were my inspiration. They were quite literally my best role models.”
Puckett now wears a pair of emerald earrings that remind her of her friend, Asha Weir.
“Emerald was Asha’s birthstone, and I got it at a farmers market,” Puckett said, “The farmers market was something that Asha and I would always go to together.”
Asha was described as wise beyond her years, according to her friends.
“Asha was so smart,” Halia Hansen, Vice President of Marketing for Alpha Phi and another close friend, said. “She would have such good advice. There were a few issues that I would talk to her about, and it was just such a judgment free area.”
Senior Asha Weir was known for her wisdom, her bravery and her peaceful spirit. She was wise and a present and intentional daughter and friend.https://t.co/2E0crAnIOi pic.twitter.com/mwxJwAcgVB
— Pepperdine Graphic (@PeppGraphic) November 3, 2023
Charlie Robinson, Peyton Stewart’s sorority mentee, remembers the moments of gratitude they had on the day of the crash.
“I remember we were sitting at Starbucks,” Robinson said. “She just looked at me. And she was like, “I’m just so happy. I’ve never been this happy in my whole life. I’m just so happy.”
Robinson said Peyton’s bright personality was and will continue to be irreplaceable.
“I’ve never had a friend like her. And there is a part of me that hopes I never will.” Robinson said. “She was two of a kind. And I’m missing that other half of me because she just understood me in a way I’ve never experienced before.”
Senior Peyton Stewart was a gentle spirit who walked with kindness in her eyes and love in her heart, Peyton's friends and family said. Peyton's loved ones reminisce on beautiful memories with Peyton and her golden personality.https://t.co/TpM2Uxhl3v pic.twitter.com/bkfBYreXk9
— Pepperdine Graphic (@PeppGraphic) November 3, 2023
Niahm Rolston, also known as “Sunshine Girl” among her friends, touched her friends with her spirit.
“She would always have a smile on her face whenever I would see her.” Hannah Schendel, Pepperdine Alpha Phi President said.
Schendel added Niamh was humble enough to be goofy and silly without taking things too seriously.
“I feel like she never realized how much everyone adored her and loved her,” Hansen said. “I wish they could see how much they were loved while they were all here.”
Community for change
Over the past year, Alpha Phi and the Pepperdine community have pushed to make PCH safer, according to Schendel.
This year, the sorority added a new foundation to their philanthropy in remembrance of their sisters.
“Alpha Phi International let us donate half of the proceeds to ‘Fix PCH,’” Schendel said. It’s super special that our chapter is able to support a cause that is so personal to us.”
Last month, Governor Gavin Newsome signed a bill into law to add at least five new speed cameras along the dangerous stretch of PCH, also known as “Dead Man’s Curve.”
In honor of her friends, Schendel hopes her sorority can continue to make PCH safer.
“I hope that the legacy of our girls and everything they did for us can continue to be a huge impact and be a part of our philanthropy.”
