A social media influencer who was involved in a fatal car crash after leaving a party at Nobu Malibu on the Fourth of July surrendered to authorities Monday and was booked on suspicion of manslaughter and drunk driving.
Summer Wheaton, 33, turned herself into the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Lost Hills station after a warrant was issued for her arrest, said Sheriff’s Lt. Dustin Carr. She posted a $250,000 bond and was released around 3:30 p.m., he said.
The arrest caps a months-long investigation following the July 4 head-on collision that killed ride-share driver Martin Okeke. His family has since sued Wheaton as well as the trendy oceanfront restaurant, well-known for its celebrity clientele.
Authorities say Wheaton, driving a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, crossed the center median on Pacific Coast Highway and crashed into a 2020 Cadillac driven by Okeke.
She was booked on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, said Carr. The felony charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Charges also include driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury and driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content of 0.08% or above causing bodily injury, Carr said. These are both so-called wobbler charges, meaning they can be prosecuted as misdemeanors or felonies, and each is punishable by up to three years in prison.
The family of Okeke filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wheaton in December, alleging that the influencer was “severely intoxicated and impaired” while driving.
Wheaton, who describes herself as a founder, speaker and wellness advocate on her website, has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram.
She broke her silence in December, months after the crash, by sharing a video, saying, “The last few months have been hard. 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 then goes on to promote her $34.99 “faith-based planner.”
The Okeke family’s lawsuit also names Nobu Malibu, the Hwood Group LLC and DBDJ LLC as defendants, alleging that Wheaton was hired to attend the party along PCH and was “expected to consume intoxicants.” An attorney for Nobu denied in December that she was hired or contracted by the restaurant.
Hwood Group regularly hosts a Fourth of July party at Nobu Malibu. Last year, however, the city of Malibu rescinded the permit for the event four days before it was scheduled to take place, citing concerns about traffic and safety. Nevertheless, the hosts continued marketing the party and ultimately held the event, the lawsuit alleges.
Attorneys for Nobu previously told The Times that the city’s decision to rescind the permit was unfounded and that the restaurant abided by the city’s initial conditions for the permit, including an agreement that guests would be shuttled to the event and that there would be no on-site parking.
Wheaton, however, drove herself to the event, the lawsuit alleges.
This story originally appeared on LA Times
