A mother and her two daughters were killed early Sunday, August 16, 2026, when a wrong-way driver slammed into their car on southbound Highway 99 near 7th Standard Road in Bakersfield. All three victims — riding together in a Honda Accord — died at the scene in a crash that also involved a BMW sedan and a Chevrolet Colorado pickup. The driver of the BMW, which CHP later confirmed was traveling north in the southbound lanes, suffered major injuries, while two people in the Chevrolet sustained minor injuries. The California Highway Patrol is still investigating how the wrong-way vehicle ended up heading into oncoming traffic on the divided highway.
According to 23ABC News (KERO), citing the California Highway Patrol’s Bakersfield office, the crash happened around 12:44 a.m. and involved a 2022 Honda Accord, a 2019 BMW 530i, and a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado. The Kern County Coroner’s Office later identified the Honda’s occupants as 41-year-old Vanessa Sue Wetmore and her daughters, 20-year-old Kylie Wetmore and 16-year-old Kloie Wetmore, according to BakersfieldNow. The family was reportedly returning from a concert in Fresno celebrating Kloie’s upcoming 17th birthday. CHP has since confirmed the BMW was the vehicle traveling the wrong way, but no charges had been filed as of the latest reporting and it remains unknown whether drugs or alcohol played a role.
