L.A. Instagram influencer arrested in connection with fatal July 4 car crash
Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A Los Angeles-based Instagram influencer has been arrested in connection with a fatal car crash from July in which authorities said she was driving drunk.
Summer Wheaton, 33, surrendered to the Lost Hills Sheriff's Station on Monday, the local sheriff's office said in a statement.
She was booked on charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury and driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or above causing bodily injury.
An arrest warrant was obtained for her detention following the completion of an investigation into the July 4 crash on the 21900 block of the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu.
According to a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department statement released following the crash, a preliminary investigation showed that a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, later confirmed to have been driven by Wheaton, had crossed the center median and collided head-on with a 2020 Cadillac traveling in the opposite direction.
The driver of the Cadillac, later identified as 44-year-old Martin Okeke, was killed in the crash.
The Cadillac's passenger sustained non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Wheaton has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram where she posts fashion and workout photos.
According to her website, she is a public speaker and wellness advocate as well as the founder of two startups and a nonprofit organization "dedicated to fostering self-discovery, self-empowerment and individual wellness."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Newsom Launches Scorched-Earth Attack on ‘Dictator' Trump
California Gov. Gavin Newsom went scorched earth on Donald Trump in a withering address on Tuesday, likening the president to 'failed dictators' and warning Americans, 'other states are next.' The Democrat gave a fervent play-by-play of events that have taken place in Los Angeles since last week, beginning with a series of federal immigration raids on workplaces in the city that sparked protests. Those demonstrations prompted Trump to send in the National Guard and then additional Marines, in defiance of Newsom's warnings that it would inflame tensions and make things worse. 'Like many states, California is no stranger to this sort of unrest,' Newsom said in a livestreamed press conference. 'We manage it regularly and with our own law enforcement. But this, again, was different. What then ensued was the use of tear gas, flash bang grenades, rubber bullets, federal agents detaining people and undermining their due process rights.' 'Donald Trump, without consulting California law enforcement leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state's National Guard members to deploy on our streets, illegally and for no reason,' he continued. 'This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers, and even our National Guard at risk.' Newsom described the move as the beginning of a 'downward spiral,' accusing Trump of 'fanning the flames' on purpose. Trump made a series of inflammatory posts on Truth Social over the weekend, ignoring Newsom's calls to return the National Guard troops to his command. The governor also condemned the 'several dozen lawbreakers' who became 'violent and destructive,' saying offenders would be 'prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.' More than 220 people had been arrested so far, he said, with more likely to come. He thanked law enforcement and the 'majority of Angelenos who protested peacefully.' On Monday, Trump ordered an additional 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles, as well as 700 Marines, after first activating 2,000 National Guard troops on Saturday. Newsom accused Trump of doing so intentionally to manufacture chaos. 'The situation was winding down and was concentrated in just a few square blocks downtown,' Newsom said. 'But that's not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety.' The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on Newsom's address. Its director of communications, Steven Cheung, wrote on X: 'NewScum must've hired Kamala and Biden's loser campaign team because he saying this is a 'threat to democracy.'' Newsom also condemned the ongoing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids, which he said had continued since last week. Images shared by ICE on social media on Tuesday appear to show troops on scene while agents detain people. The agency said the images showed an 'immigration enforcement operation.' Newsom's administration filed an emergency motion on Tuesday to 'block Trump's unlawful militarization of Los Angeles.' A judge declined to grant immediate relief but gave the Trump administration until Wednesday to file its response. 'If some of us could be snatched off the streets without a warrant based only on suspicion or skin color, then none of us are safe,' Newsom said in his press conference. 'Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves, but they do not stop there.' He referenced the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, arguing that Trump is 'not opposed to lawlessness and violence as long as it serves him.' Trump in January pardoned about 1,500 people who had been convicted over their roles in the riot, which was carried out in protest of Trump's 2020 election loss. Newsom also ran through some of Trump's most stunning acts as president so far, including his targeting of universities, the media, government watchdogs, law firms and the judiciary. 'He's ordering our American heroes, the United States military, and forcing them to put on a vulgar display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators have done in the past,' he added, referring to the June 14 military parade to mark the 250th anniversary of the Army and the president's 79th birthday. The Democrat warned Americans this is not just about the protests in Los Angeles. 'This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next,' he said, adding: 'This moment we have feared has arrived.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Editorial: Newsom vs. Trump — The courts must strike down Trump's Los Angeles deployment
After President Donald Trump illegally federalized and deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops to ostensibly a nonexistent rebellion in Los Angeles, Gov. Gavin Newsom has sued the White House and Pentagon. Good; in this country, these are battles that should be fought in the courts, not the streets, and an independent federal judge with life tenure should take little time to find that Trump has overplayed his hand. The lawsuit does not appear to rest on any particularly complex legal arguments because it doesn't have to. It is plain as day that Trump is overstepping his authority by cutting Newsom out of the deployment. That will be doubly true now that he and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are sending in 700 Marines, who have no business engaging in any law enforcement on U.S. soil. Active duty troops can only be used if the Insurrection Act is invoked, which must not happen. What Trump and immigration czar Tom Homan are attempting to do is to instigate a problem. This started not with arrests of violent criminal illegal aliens, but protest demonstrations against ICE outside a Home Depot. There were chants of 'ICE go home' and 'No justice, no peace.' At one point in the standoff the feds fired flash-bang grenades and some in the crowd wrongly threw rocks. Elsewhere a crowd torched a car. The lawlessness must be stopped and the vandals apprehended. But it's not a matter of calling in the Guard, against the wishes of the governor. Trump used similar tactics during the 2020 George Floyd protests as he seized on isolated and sporadic acts of violence and looting to claim that the entire movement was a riot that needed to be pacified, sending in unidentified federal agents to detain people. Trump is now escalating to using the military in violation both of the law and of a slew of our democratic national principles. The reason he and his lackeys would prefer to just use force to put down public demonstration is because they know they're losing the argument and slipping and popular opinion, as the public realizes it was sold a false bill of goods on the economy and that the administration wants indiscriminate arrests, not of criminals, but long-time community members — neighbors, friends, coworkers. So the public is distracted, not by advancing a governing vision or changing course, but sending soldiers into the streets. Homan has already declared he could have Newsom arrested, just as the administration has done with other lower-profile dissidents. Here in New York, Mayor Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessie Tisch say that the NYPD is fully capable of maintaining security and safeguarding the right of all to peacefully protest. Trump used the excuse of anarchy and lawlessness on the street to inject the National Guard and the Marines into L.A., despite not being legally allowed to do so. That won't happen here if the NYPD keeps control and prevents any outbreaks of violence. As we said, the confrontation over Trump's L.A. power grab should be playing out in the courts, where passions are cool and the only tools are words, not armed force. Like with so many of the president's forays, the judiciary will apply the law and tell him to retreat, sending the troops back to the barracks. _____
CNN
an hour ago
- CNN
LAPD pull CNN crew through police line as they disperse protesters
Tensions were high in downtown Los Angeles, as authorities tried to quell a fifth day of anti-ICE protests. CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Kyung Lah was reporting on the ground.
