A social media influencer who was concerned in a deadly automotive crash after leaving a celebration at Nobu Malibu on the Fourth of July surrendered to authorities Monday and was booked on suspicion of manslaughter and drunk driving.
Summer time Wheaton, 33, turned herself into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division Misplaced Hills station after a warrant was issued for her arrest, mentioned Sheriff’s Lt. Dustin Carr. She posted a $250,000 bond and was launched round 3:30 p.m., he mentioned.
The arrest caps a months-long investigation following the July 4 head-on collision that killed ride-share driver Martin Okeke. His household has since sued Wheaton in addition to the stylish oceanfront restaurant, well-known for its celeb clientele.
Authorities say Wheaton, driving a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, crossed the middle median on Pacific Coast Freeway and crashed right into a 2020 Cadillac pushed by Okeke.
She was booked on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter whereas intoxicated, mentioned Carr. The felony cost is punishable by as much as 10 years in jail.
Costs additionally embrace driving inebriated inflicting bodily damage and driving inebriated with a blood alcohol content material of 0.08% or above inflicting bodily damage, Carr mentioned. These are each so-called wobbler costs, which means they are often prosecuted as misdemeanors or felonies, and every is punishable by as much as three years in jail.
The household of Okeke filed a wrongful loss of life lawsuit towards Wheaton in December, alleging that the influencer was “severely intoxicated and impaired” whereas driving.
Wheaton, who describes herself as a founder, speaker and wellness advocate on her web site, has greater than 100,000 followers on Instagram.
She broke her silence in December, months after the crash, by sharing a video, saying, “The previous couple of months have been laborious. You realize that feeling when life looks like it’s all falling aside, however someway it’s a begin of one thing actually lovely? Nicely, that was me.” Wheaton then goes on to advertise her $34.99 “faith-based planner.”
The Okeke household’s lawsuit additionally names Nobu Malibu, the Hwood Group LLC and DBDJ LLC as defendants, alleging that Wheaton was employed to attend the social gathering alongside PCH and was “anticipated to devour intoxicants.” An lawyer for Nobu denied in December that she was employed or contracted by the restaurant.
Hwood Group commonly hosts a Fourth of July social gathering at Nobu Malibu. Final yr, nevertheless, town of Malibu rescinded the allow for the occasion 4 days earlier than it was scheduled to happen, citing considerations about site visitors and security. However, the hosts continued advertising and marketing the social gathering and finally held the occasion, the lawsuit alleges.
Attorneys for Nobu beforehand instructed The Instances that town’s resolution to rescind the allow was unfounded and that the restaurant abided by town’s preliminary situations for the allow, together with an settlement that visitors could be shuttled to the occasion and that there could be no on-site parking.
Wheaton, nevertheless, drove herself to the occasion, the lawsuit alleges.
