Latest news with #SummerWheaton
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
Instagram Wellness Influencer Is Looking at Serious Prison Time For This One Allegedly Terrible Decision
A social media influencer is facing serious trouble after surrendering to authorities. According to officials, Summer Wheaton has been hit with a number of charges connected to a fatal car accident in Los Angeles last July. The accident occurred last summer around 10:30 p.m. on July 4. Then, authorities said Wheaton, who's known online for her lifestyle content and wellness advocacy, was allegedly driving while intoxicated. But things took a serious turn when her vehicle crashed into another car after an event at Nobu, according to the New York Post. Wheaton allegedly crossed a center median on the Pacific Coast Highway and crashed her Mercedes Benz into a Cadillac SUV driven by a 44-year-old rideshare driver, according to the Post. The driver, Martin Okeke, died at the scene. Wheaton and another passenger were taken to a local hospital following the crash, CBS News reported. City officials said they denied Nobu restaurant a temporary use permit to host the Fourth of July event because the owners failed to comply with traffic and safety conditions, but the restaurant put on the party anyway. In December, Okeke's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wheaton, alleging the influencer was 'severely intoxicated and impaired' at the time of the collision, according to ABC 7. The suit also named the restaurant and hospitality company, Hwood Group LLC, who hosts the annual July event at Nobu. According to the family, the 33-year-old 'expected to consume intoxicants' and these two companies knew she was 'unsafe to drive her vehicle, but still provided [Wheaton] with her keys and car.' Several months after the fatal crash and a formal investigation into the matter, Wheaton was booked for manslaughter and drunk driving on Feb. 24, according to jail records. She also took to Instagram in December, breaking her months-long silence. 'The last few months have been hard,' she wrote. 'You know that feeling when life seems like it's all falling apart, but somehow it's a start of something really beautiful? Well, that was me.' Wheaton was released on $250,000 bond. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
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."
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Yahoo
Instagram influencer arrested for deadly drunk driving crash: Sheriff
An Instagram influencer accused of a drunk driving crash that killed a man in Southern California last summer has now been arrested, officials said. Summer Wheaton, 33, surrendered Monday at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff's Station when a warrant was issued for her arrest following a monthslong investigation, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. She faces several charges, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence, the sheriff's department said. Wheaton was released after posting bond, according to records viewed by ABC News. On the night of July 4, 2024, Wheaton allegedly crossed the median on the Pacific Coast Highway and crashed head-on into another vehicle, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC. The other car's driver -- 44-year-old rideshare driver Martin Okeke -- was killed in the crash. MORE: Social media influencer arrested after filming herself getting ready to steal from store using fake barcodes: Police Beforehand, Wheaton had been at a large party at the restaurant Nobu in Malibu, KABC reported. Wheaton has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and describes herself online as a "wellness advocate" focused on "empowering individuals to become their highest selves." On Tuesday morning, a day after her arrest, Wheaton posted Bible verses to her Instagram story. Wheaton went on a monthslong Instagram hiatus after the deadly crash, but returned in December with a promoted post for a "faith-based planner" she had created. In the promotional video -- which featured shots of Wheaton exercising, journaling and gazing out at the ocean -- Wheaton spoke vaguely of a "hard" few months. MORE: 3 indicted, including 2 parents, in drunk driving crash that killed high school student "You know that feeling when life feels like it's all falling apart, but somehow it's the start of something really beautiful? Well, that was me," she said in the voiceover. "The last few months have been hard. I went through moments where I truly didn't know I pulled through." "But in the chaos, something shifted. I was reminded of a deeper truth: that beautiful things can bloom out of despair," she said. "Sometimes it's in those broken places where faith takes root and grows stronger." Wheaton did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. Instagram influencer arrested for deadly drunk driving crash: Sheriff originally appeared on
