Tragedy struck Tuesday night when a reckless encounter on the Malibu Highway ended in a violent crash, causing the premature and brutal end of four young lives. Four Pepperdine University students – balls of contagious positivity worthy of marvel by anyone lucky enough to have encountered them, were extinguished by a driver who recklessly pushed a metal beast beyond 100mph on a road not designed to entertain such speed demons.
The tragic incident highlighted the lethality of the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) in Malibu, which has claimed at least 58 lives since 2010. Among the grieving is a girl who narrowly escaped the same fate, saved only by a late cheer practice. This survivor, now among the grieving voices demanding safety changes to this notorious death-trap, struck an earnest chord when she declared, 'If change isn't made, personally, I'll feel unheard of. I'll feel like they are unseen. Undervalued.'
The Pepperdine families are not alone; they follow a sorrowful path tread by many before them. Film producer Michelle Shane, reliving the pain of his own daughter's tragic loss on the PCH in 2010, has made it his mission to stop history from repeating itself on this rapidly lethal strip of road.
The PCH is widely recognized as a perilous stretch of road, sandwiched between continents of million-dollar homes, captivating beaches, and a perpetual cyclone of fast cars. The plethora of lives it has swallowed since 2010 is staggering -- '58 people in 13 years. It's unbelievable and the fact that we're complacent about it is outrageous,' Shane angrily notes.
Synchronized stoplights and additional patrols have been included in the latest steps by the government. However, many have called for more substantial changes, including the installation of speed cameras and the conversion of the highway into a slow boulevard. Study changes currently being looked into by Caltrans include possible bike lanes and the feasibility of legally lowering speed limits.
Despite the prevailing grief shrouding these deaths, there is hope - a universal desire that the ordeal of these young women won't be in vain. The driver who shattered these lives, a 22-year-old man, has been charged with four counts each of murder and vehicular manslaughter and has pleaded not guilty.
