DELANO, Calif. — A family is grieving after a deadly wrong-way crash on Highway 99 in Delano claimed the life of a father of eight, leaving behind loved ones who say their lives have been changed forever.
“He deserved to come home that night he was going to visit family for the weekend. He wasn’t expecting something like that to happen,” said Leann Dominique Sanchez, the victim’s oldest daughter.
According to the Bakersfield California Highway Patrol, the crash happened Saturday night around 9 p.m. on Highway 99 near Ninth Avenue.
One person died and several others were taken to the hospital after a crash on Highway 99 at Ninth Avenue{ } on Saturday, April 4, 2026. PHOTO: KBAK/KBFX
Investigators said a 28-year-old man driving a Tesla was traveling the wrong way when he crashed head-on into a Nissan and a Dodge Charger.
Authorities said those inside the Dodge Charger suffered only minor injuries. However, the people inside the Nissan—including Sanchez’s’ father—were critically hurt.
Courtesy: Leann Dominique Sanchez
“It was extremely devastating my dad is the rock to our family like, he’s everything it still doesn’t even feel real,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said her father was riding in the passenger seat. Her stepmother, Lupe, was driving, and her 7-year-old sister, Bella, was in the back seat at the time of the crash.
Courtesy: Leann Dominique Sanchez
The family had been traveling to Bakersfield to spend Easter weekend together.
Both survived but suffered serious injuries.
“She had two brain bleeds a fractured jaw, fractured eye socket she had lacerations on her pancreas and I think her spleen and now she has a halo brace so she has to keep her neck stabilized,” Sanchez said about her younger sister.
Her stepmother remains hospitalized.
“She has a lot of fractures in her chest, ribs and then I believe her spine,” she added.
For Sanchez and her family, the loss has been overwhelming.
“Our family is honestly just lost without him it just doesn’t feel real it’s honestly super unfair that one decision getting in the car and driving it changed our lives forever,” she said.
Now, the family is calling for accountability.
“We definitely want justice for my dad he deserved to come home that night,” Sanchez said.
They are also urging others to think twice before driving under the influence.
“It’s not worth it you know, it’s not worth it at all get a Lyft, an Uber we have so many things accessible to us in minutes,” she said.
Sanchez described her father as a hardworking and loving man who was deeply devoted to his family.
“My dad was just super hardworking, loving he just was that dad that took us to the lake all the time did barbecues every weekend always cooking he was all about his family,” she said.
Courtesy: Leann Dominique Sanchez
The family has created a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses, medical bills, and ongoing support for the children he leaves behind.
According to court records, the driver has pleaded no contest to charges including vehicular manslaughter and DUI. He is expected back in court on May 6.