A GoFundMe page created by the family identified the victims by their first name, Vanessa and her daughters Kloie and Kylie. The Kern County Coroner’s Office released their identities Thursday morning.
GoFundMe
The identifies of the mother and her two daughters killed early Sunday in a wrong-way crash on Highway 99 involving multiple vehicles have been released by the Kern County Coroners’ Office.
Sheriff-Coroner Donny Youngblood identified the three Bakersfield women Thursday morning as 20-year-old Kylie Wetmore, 41-year-old Vanessa Sue Wetmore and 16-year-old Kloie Wetmore.
According to the Coroner’s office, Vanessa and Kloie were passengers in the 2022 Honda Accord driven by Kylie.
The three women died at the scene when the vehicle they occupied became engulfed in flames, said the CHP.
A GoFundMe page created by the family earlier this week identified the victims only by their first name.
The crash involving three vehicles happened around 12:44 a.m. Sunday on Highway 99 north of 7th Standard Road outside Bakersfield when one driver went north on the southbound lanes of Highway 99, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Vannessa’s brother Dale Schoettler said his sister and nieces were heading home after attending a concert in Fresno to celebrate Kloie’s upcoming birthday. She would have turned 17 on Aug. 20.
“What should have been a weekend filled with memories and a celebration of Kloie turning 17 has instead left a family trying to comprehend the loss of a mother and her two daughters all at once,” Schoettler wrote.
As of Thursday, more than $67,00 had been raised to help the son and brother they leave behind as well as to cover funeral expenses. He would turn 16 on the same day as Kloie’s birthday on Aug. 20.
A GoFundMe page created by the family identified the victims by their first name, Vanessa and her daughters Kloie and Kylie. The Kern County Coroner’s Office released their identities Thursday morning. GoFundMe
According to the CHP, the crash also involved a 2019 BMW 530I, and a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado truck. The CHP has not yet disclosed which of the involved vehicles was traveling the wrong direction.
The BMW driver, traveling alone, suffered major injuries and was taken by ambulance to a hospital. The two occupants in the Chevrolet truck suffered minor injuries, said the CHP.
The CHP Bakersfield Area office is asking anyone who witnessed the crash or may have relevant information to call 661-396-6600. It has not been determined whether the use of alcohol and/or drugs were a factor in this crash, said the CHP.
A GoFundMe page created by the family identified the victims by their first name, Vanessa and her daughters Kloie and Kylie. The Kern County Coroner’s Office released their identities Thursday morning. GoFundMe
This story was originally published August 20, 2026 at 2:29 PM.
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María G. Ortiz-Briones is a reporter and photographer for McClatchy’s Vida en el Valle and the Fresno Bee. She covers issues that impact the Latino community in the Central Valley. She is a regular contributor to La Abeja, The Bee’s free weekly newsletter on Latino issues. | María G. Ortiz-Briones es reportera y fotógrafa de Vida en el Valle de McClatchy y el Fresno Bee. Ella cubre temas que impactan a la comunidad latina en el Valle Central. Es colaboradora habitual de La Abeja, el boletín semanal gratuito de The Bee sobre temas latinos.
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