The preliminary trial of Fraser Michael Bohm took place in the Van Nuys Courthouse from April 28 to April 30. Superior Court Judge Diego H. Edber ordered Bohm to stand trial for four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence July 1. Photo by Mary Elisabeth
Fraser Michael Bohm, the 22 year old accused of killing four Pepperdine students in October 2023, has been ordered to stand trial for his charges beginning July 1. Bohm is being charged with four counts of murder and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection to the crash on Pacific Coast Highway that claimed the lives of Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Deslyn Williams and Asha Weir.
The case of Fraser Michael Bohm v. the People of the State of California was sent to trial after three days of a preliminary trial that took place April 28 through April 30.
Superior Court Judge Diego H. Edber ruled over the case during the preliminary trial out of the Van Nuys Courthouse with Nathan Bartos representing the people of the State of California as the prosecuting attorney and Michael Kraut serving as Bohm’s defense attorney.
Family, friends and community members of the victims and the accused were in attendance for each day of the preliminary trial. Each day saw a packed court room, with additional rolling chairs distributed for seating.
Six witnesses took the stand and more than 17 pieces of evidence were displayed over the course of eight hours April 28.
Victor Calandra, a Malibu residentof 35 years that testified to driving alongside Bohm on Oct. 17, took the stand for the most amount of time on Monday. Security camera footage from PCH showed Calandra’s blue 2016 GMC 2500 pickup truck driving in close proximity to Bohm minutes before the crash.
Calandra said although he was around 100 yards behind, he noticed Bohm’s BMW driving erratically and swerving on PCH just beyond Sunset Boulevard toward Topanga. Calandra was able to catch up to the erratic vehicle at the Las Flores Canyon stoplight.
At this light, Calandra said he noticed Bohm had his cellphone between his legs under the steering wheel and was moving his thumbs, possibly texting. Calandra rolled down his window and tried to get Bohm’s attention as he testified saying, “Hey, you need to be careful. You’re going to hurt yourself.”
Calandra said there was no response from Bohm, and when the Las Flores light turned green, the BMW took off with “extreme acceleration.”
Due to this speeding, Calandra said he came upon the crash scene seconds later and saw the aftermath of the collision. Calandra pulled over upon seeing multiple cars involved. As he walked past the impacted vehicles, Calandra said he saw the effects of the crash, including victims.
When he arrived at Bohm’s car, Calandra testified to grabbing Bohm’s arm and walking him over to a home with a 1 to 2 foot embankment for him to sit on while they waited for authorities to arrive. Calandra testified to using a louder voice with more forceful words in an attempt to get Bohm’s attention, who was described as seemingly “discombobulated.”
Kraut said his client was a victim of road rage. During cross-examination of Calandra, Kraut catered many of his questions to Calandra’s past driving history with road rage incidents and tone of voice when speaking to Bohm on Oct. 17.
Miguel Cruchinho, the final witness to take the stand Monday, testified with similarities to Calandra’s recollection. Cruchinho said he was stopped at a light with Bohm, who was not pulled up to the limit line all the way despite having nobody in front of him.
Cruchino testified that he saw the dark BMW accelerate, veer between lanes, and swerve around other vehicles. Due to the speed of theBMW, Cruchino said he arrived at the crash site within two to three minutes, initially seeing skid marks and smoke.
When Cruchino pulled over at the scene, the first car he saw was Bohm’s BMW with its front end completely smashed in. Cruchino said he approached Bohm and yelled, “What are you doing?” to which Bohm repeatedly replied, “I’m sorry.”
Cruchino assisted Calandra with sitting Bohm down on the embankment. When Kraut questioned the force the men were using against his client, Cruchino said, “He was getting up, I didn’t know if he was going to run or do something. I wanted him to stay still.”
Kraut asked Cruchino about Calandra’s tone and attitude at the scene of the crash. Cruchino said it seemed like Calandra was merely upset about the crash, as he came up to Bohm and said, “You son of a b—– you just killed somebody.” Court adjourned on Monday at 4:22 p.m.
Court was set to begin at 9 a.m. on the morning of April 29 with more family members of the victims in attendance. The first half of Tuesday included testimonies from Sheriff’s deputies involved in the case.
The first to testify was Deputy Robert Apodaca, an officer for 18 years who is assigned to Traffic Service Detail with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Apodaca said he was the on-call investigator the night of Oct. 17, 2023.
Apodaca said he collected data of the crash using advanced technology, including a FARO to generate a 3D model of the scene and event data recorder, or black box, from Bohm’s BMW. Apodaca said the black box records deployment and non-deployment events in which there is an extreme change in velocity within the vehicle.
The data collected from Bohm’s vehicle recorded three events on the night of Oct. 17, 2023 and five seconds of pre-crash statistics. Records two and three, which would have been the first impacts during the crash, were recorded as deployment events. Apodaca said record one was also a deployment event, but there was nothing left to deploy anymore.
The statistics track a variety of data including speed, acceleration percentage and brake switches. The data showed that Bohm was going 104 mph two seconds before thefirst impact and 99 mph at the time of the impact.
During cross-examination, Kraut tried to ask Apodaca if there was room for error within the machines and said the deputy exclusively relied on the module. He also brought up that due to the BMW ending up on a sidewalk, it was airborne at some point, which can record speed faster than its reality.
Detective Gideon Lee also took the stand Tuesday. He was met with questioning about the quality of videos taken from PCH.
The afternoon saw more evidence come forward in the form of body camera footage. The first was from Officer Shalkx which included the debris from the crash, the four victims’ bodies and the conversation had with Bohm.
When asked what happened, Bohm replied, “pretty much got into a car accident.” He also recalled “going fast” but it was “such a blur” and he had no idea what was going on. With further questioning, Bohm said he didn’t know how fast he was going and he was “just coasting” while trying to avoid a car.
Bohm’s mouth was bleeding from the crash, and he claimed to be “super concussed” at the scene. Bohm stated, “I feel awful, obviously, being a survivor.”
The second body camera footage was from Officer Tellus. On the bodycam, Tellus is heard saying, “You think you were on the phone?”
However, Kraut said Tellus merely assumed and told Bohm he must have been texting and lost control. There was no evidence of SMS going through at the time of the crash.
Court was dismissed around 3 p.m. on Tuesday and resumed Wednesday with defense witnesses. Edber ordered Bohm to the Van Nuys Courthouse on July 1 for arraignment where he will stand trial for his charges.
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