Overview
- A multi-vehicle crash just before 12:45 a.m. early Sunday on Highway 99 north of 7th Standard Road near Bakersfield left a Honda engulfed in flames and three people dead.
- Kern County’s coroner identified the victims as Vanessa Sue Wetmore, 41, and her daughters Kylie Wetmore, 20, and Kloie Wetmore, 16, all of Bakersfield.
- The California Highway Patrol says one vehicle was driving north in the southbound lanes when it hit two other vehicles but investigators have not yet determined which vehicle was wrong-way or whether alcohol or drugs were involved.
- A 2019 BMW 530i driver, reported as a 44-year-old man, and his passenger were taken to hospital with major injuries while two people in a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado suffered minor injuries.
- Family members set up a GoFundMe to cover funeral and immediate needs and the fundraiser had raised more than $67,000 by Thursday as the community and relatives cope with the loss.