MALIBU—Summer Wheaton, 35, a social media influencer with over 100,000 Instagram followers, pleaded not guilty Wednesday, July 1 to vehicular manslaughter and two counts of DUI during her arraignment in Van Nuys. She is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on August 7, 2026.
On the Fourth of July in 2024, around 10:30 p.m., Wheaton was involved in a crash on Pacific Coast Highway after leaving a party at Nobu. She allegedly crossed the median into oncoming traffic, where her 2019 white Mercedes-Benz collided head-on with a 2020 Cadillac SUV traveling westbound.
The driver of the Cadillac, 44-year-old rideshare driver Martin Okeke, was killed in the crash. After the conclusion of the month’s long investigation into the fatal collision, an arrest warrant was obtained for Summer Wheaton by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. On February 24, 2025, Wheaton surrendered herself to the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station.
Wheaton was booked on gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing bodily injury, and driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or higher causing bodily injury.
In a separate civil filing, Wheaton has denied responsibility for Okeke’s death and claims the crash was his fault.
By Milan Manesh