Instagram Wellness Influencer Is Looking at Serious Prison Time For This One Allegedly Terrible Decision
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.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
6 hours ago
Texas floods: 911 audio from county near hard-hit Kerrville shows confusion and distress
Audio recordings obtained by ABC News reveal, for the first time, some of the desperate moments faced by Hill Country residents as floodwaters raged across Texas on the Fourth of July. "We really need somebody," a caller told a dispatcher. "My boyfriend is currently stuck in a tree out on the current." Another resident said that a man was stuck "in the middle of the river." These calls are among the more than 100 dispatch audio and 911 recordings from a Texas county -- downriver from hard-hit Kerrville -- released by the City of Boerne in response to an ABC News public records request. ABC News has also requested 911 calls and dispatcher audio from Kerr County. The county has not responded to the request. Boerne handles emergency communications in Kendall County, which borders Kerr County and was also affected by the tragic flooding. Some of the recordings show apparent confusion and distress among some Kendall County residents about evacuation orders and road closures during the Fourth of July flooding. "Do I go in my pajamas? Do I take a shower first? How much time do I have?" one caller asked a dispatcher after being warned by someone patrolling her street to be prepared to evacuate. Some callers said they had heard about evacuations from social media sites, like YouTube and Facebook, but weren't sure if the orders applied to their area. In one call, a woman with a baby told the 911 operator that her house was flooding. "We can't go anywhere," she said. More than 130 people died in the July 4 flooding -- with more than 100 of the deaths occurring in Kerr County. There were nine deaths reported in Kendall County. This month, officials said the number of people believed to be missing dropped from nearly 100 to three. The recordings also provide insight into Kendall County's police response and communications with other counties. "We have located a body," a Boerne Police Department dispatcher told a Kerr County law enforcement representative. "It's definitely going to be a drowned victim or a flood victim." In another recording, a caller stated that earlier in the day, he had been just a foot away from a body on his land. The dispatcher told him that first responders were having trouble getting to his property since a road was impassable. In addition, the recordings show how emergency orders were passed from one local agency to another -- and sometimes appeared to meet resistance. In a call early on July 4, a Boerne dispatcher told another first responder that the Comfort Volunteer Fire Department in Kendall County had relayed a warning from Kerr County that the water was rising and would reach Boerne in four to six hours. "They're requesting -- no, they're stating -- that we need to close all crossings," the dispatcher said. "What? What crossings?" the other first responder on the line asked in an agitated tone. He sighed and added, "With what?" About 20 minutes later, a first responder asked Boerne Police: "Did y'all open up a call sheet for that b------- water flood stuff?" Then he clarified, "We're not on it, right?" Even as the initial rescue operations were unfolding, first responders and 911 dispatchers discussed problems with county emergency communications and response coordination. In one call, a dispatcher noted that the phone line for the Guadalupe River State Park was down. In another, a first responder called 911 to raise concerns with the local emergency operations center call sheets. "We updated and gave direction a couple of times, and it still was done a different … way by every time somebody different got on there," the first responder said. He suggested merging call sheets to better organize and unify the emergency response, to which the dispatcher replied: "That's going to be a pain." "Maybe we can go through this in the future, how we can do it differently," the first responder said at the end of the call, and the dispatcher agreed. "We all have something to bring for the after-action."
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kelley Wolf Struggles to Enter Family Home on Instagram Live After Husband Scott Wolf Drops Restraining Order Against Her
Kelley documented her attempt to get into their home alongside police officers on Instagram, which her 16-year-old son Jackson later called "insane"NEED TO KNOW Kelley Wolf recorded her attempts to enter her family's home nearly two weeks after her estranged husband Scott Wolf dropped a restraining order against her A spokesperson from the Summit County Sheriff's Office confirms to PEOPLE that they responded to a 'keep the peace' call on July 29 and escorted Kelley around the home as she attempted to get inside Her 16-year-old son Jackson later responded to her Instagram video, writing, 'This is insane mom what are you doing"Kelley Wolf is documenting her struggle to get inside her family home nearly two weeks after her husband Scott Wolf dropped his restraining order against her. In a video shared on her Instagram on July 29, the author and public speaker — who announced her split from the Party of Five star last month — documented her attempts to enter the Park City, Utah home with police present. Before arriving at the home, Kelley, 48, said she was 'under the impression that I have done everything humanly possible to retrieve some basic items from my home." 'I'm currently about to meet up with a deputy of Summit County who's going to escort me into my home so I can get some money that I have saved,' she claimed, later adding, 'I have just had enough... I'm sick of being treated like I'm crazy." As she exited her car to meet the officers, she expressed that she was unhappy with the public perception of what was happening. 'I have a sassy attitude, my God, but being called things like grandiose, bipolar, schizophrenic, crazy, being banned from places I've been forever is just rude, honestly,' she said. She added that there was a no longer active restraining order as well as 'two involuntary holds.' 'I have to now prove myself and [I] did nothing except ask for a divorce,' she shared as she attempted to enter a security code at the front door. 'I'm sure y'all have seen this before, but wrong lady, because I don't back down.' As she attempted to gain entry through the garage, she recalled her father's advice, saying, 'My dad taught me [to] keep cash. You know, just keep cash. And since I now owe a lot of lovely people a lot of money back, I've never asked for $1 in my life.' Though the garage door opened, she wasn't able to get inside the home. She then claimed she wanted to file for divorce before her estranged husband. 'I just want to get a few things… I tried to do this as peacefully [possible],' she alleged. 'I've called you guys eight times in January saying I didn't feel safe, but [Scott] beat me to the punch. Apparently, I tried to file, but if somebody files before you, they can do a lot of weird stuff.' As she continued to try to find a way into the home, she opened about the toll of being in the public eye. 'We're both famous, just that's the part that sucks…' she said. 'It's embarrassing.' She removed a window screen and attempted to push another window open as the officers called Scott, who did not answer. The video concluded with her saying that she would be 'be right back." In response to the video, her 16-year-old son Jackson wrote in the comment section, 'This is insane mom what are you doing.' PEOPLE has reached out to Scott's rep and attorneys for comment. Police have since confirmed that they were present for the situation in a statement to PEOPLE. A spokesperson from the Summit County Sheriff's Office confirms to PEOPLE that they responded to a 'keep the peace' call on the morning of July 29. 'The original call came in at 7:53 in the morning," the spokesperson says. "The deputy did not meet with them at the residence until 9:45, and the deputy advised that the complainant had left the scene at 11:34.' Police confirm that Kelley indicated she "needed to gather items at the house" and escorted her around as she tried several ways to enter the home. However, Kelley was unsuccessful in her attempts as the spokesperson says, "It appeared that the locks on the house had been changed." Per officials, Kelley 'made some phone calls to family, had some conversations with family [but] still wasn't able to gain access into the house and ultimately left.' She "never made contact with anyone" that might have been in the house and it is not known whether anyone was home at the time. "We didn't have any contact with anyone [who might have been at the residence]. But we were never inside either," the spokesperson says. "We wouldn't know definitively, but we have no reason to believe that there was anyone there." The spokesperson also adds: "The complainant did mention that there was a court order in place. As a standard procedure in these types of cases, our deputy did search for any types of orders that would bar or prohibit the complainant from being at the residence, and they were unable to locate any existing orders." The video comes nearly two weeks after Scott's restraining order against her was dismissed on July 19 amid ongoing divorce proceedings. According to court documents reviewed by PEOPLE, the July 15 temporary stipulated agreement includes provisions around custody, a temporary restraining order, visitation, finances and communication. The 57-year-old actor was granted temporary sole physical custody of their three children Jackson as well as Miller, 12; and Lucy, 11, while Kelley was granted "liberal" supervised visitation with her children. Kelley was allowed supervised parenting time as coordinated by counsel, and three supervised video or phone calls per week with the children during reasonable waking hours. If the court-appointed guardian raises concerns, all parties must reevaluate whether supervision remains necessary. Kelley is also allowed to respond if the children initiate additional contact. The agreement also included a social media gag order too. Neither party may post about one another, their marriage, children or the divorce, nor allow any third party to do so. The ultimate goal, the agreement claimed, is for Kelley to eventually regain unsupervised parenting time. Read the original article on People
San Francisco Chronicle
8 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Bay FC players no stranger to gambling-fueled online abuse and insults
Missing a penalty kick or turning the ball over didn't always lead to a barrage of online hate. But as sports betting surges, the two have become inextricable, and Bay FC players say they've dealt with it first-hand. 'There's always a comment here and there. Like, you're on Reddit and you see something like a negative comment towards yourself or your teammate,' said forward Penelope Hocking. The problem is especially prevalent among female athletes — the NCAA released a study after March Madness in 2024 reporting that women received three times the abuse than men experienced. While a subsequent study commissioned by the NCAA for the 2025 tournaments noted a 23% decline from the gambling-related abuse online, players like Hocking still see harmful comments. 'I think it's, like, propaganda against women, because there's always like a clip on Instagram (of) women's soccer, and it's some sort of blunder, and that's the only perception of women's soccer,' Hocking said. 'And it's always men that are like, you know, attacking the women for like just not being as athletically gifted … it's just (about) proving those people are wrong.' The NWSL, in particular, is already wrought with its own concerns, ranging from sexual misconduct to verbal abuse. A recent investigation reviewed at least two formal complaints against Bay FC head coach Albertin Montoya for violating the league's anti-harassment, bullying and discrimination policy. The investigation concluded that he was not in violation of the league's policy, but suggested a need for 'communication improvements.' The negative online environment that has become exponentially cultivated by gamblers dissatisfied with prop bet outcomes seems only to add to the pressures faced by teams. 'But I think part of being a professional is just like tuning that out and being confident in yourself,' Hocking added. 'Just blocking out the haters.' But it can be difficult to block out the haters — especially when threats go as far as telling players across various sports 'kill yourself' or making threatening comments about an athlete's family, as the Washington Post reported in June. The anonymity — both in terms of emotional separation and lacking identity — that social media provides makes it easy for extreme comments to be made. And with a higher-than-ever volume of such messages, the accountability mechanism is more difficult to enforce. Bay FC and the NWSL are aware of the damage dealt by the online abuse, becoming enough of an issue to create supportive infrastructure for athletes. The NWSL and Bay FC have contracted two companies specifically for the online threats and abuse. One monitors the online comments, hiding those that are abusive on the accounts of teams, the league and player accounts. The other company actively investigates threats made. 'I think we're really fortunate. We have great support here,' said goalie Jordan Silkowitz. 'We have each other, we're all kind of going through the same thing. And we play professional sports, so leaning on our teammates, our staff, our support staff. Everyone in this organization is great.'
