John Jefferson
Background: News footage of the July 4, 2024 car crash in Malibu, Calif. that killed Martin Okeke (KCAL). Inset (left): Summer Wheaton (Instagram). Inset (right): Martin Okeke (provided by family).
A California woman has surrendered to police months after she was involved in a horrific car crash that killed a ride share driver.
Summer Wheaton, 33, was charged with several felonies related to a July 2024 crash on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, including gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office, Wheaton allegedly “crossed the center median for unknown reasons and collided head-on with a 2020 Cadillac traveling westbound.” The driver of that Cadillac was 44-year-old Martin Okeke, who died at the scene.
Wheaton, a social media influencer with over 100,000 followers on Instagram, reportedly left a raucous party at famed Japanese restaurant Nobu that ended around 10 p.m. on the night of July 4, 2024. According to reporting at the time by The Malibu Times, the establishment was already under fire by the City of Malibu because of previous traffic issues as well as another factor — the amount of alcohol being served at the event. The party’s sponsors were all liquor vendors, and the tables — which went for $10,000 to as high as $75,000 — all reportedly had several free bottles of alcoholic beverages.
At 10:20 p.m., minutes after the Nobu party wrapped up, Wheaton allegedly got in her white Mercedes-Benz and, according to the preliminary investigation by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, drove into oncoming traffic and crashed head-on into the car being driven by Okeke. An unnamed teenage passenger in Okeke’s car was injured, as was Wheaton.
The wellness and empowerment influencer was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, and driving under the influence of alcohol with a BAC of 0.08% or above causing bodily injury. She surrendered to police at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station on Feb. 24 and was booked on $230,000 bond, which she posted. She was released from custody the same day.
KCAL, a local CBS affiliate, reported that Okeke’s family sued Wheaton, Nobu, and The Hwood Group, the company that hosted the party, in December 2024 for wrongful death, claiming that she was “severely intoxicated and impaired” when she allegedly drove into Okeke’s car.
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