{"id":274630,"date":"2026-04-18T20:34:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T20:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/274630\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T20:34:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T20:34:24","slug":"family-speaks-out-after-father-killed-in-wrong-way-crash-on-highway-99-in-delano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/274630\/","title":{"rendered":"Family speaks out after father killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 99 in Delano"},"content":{"rendered":"

DELANO, Calif. \u2014 A family is grieving after a deadly wrong-way crash on Highway 99 in Delano <\/a>claimed the life of a father of eight, leaving behind loved ones who say their lives have been changed forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe deserved to come home that night he was going to visit family for the weekend. He wasn\u2019t expecting something like that to happen,\u201d said Leann Dominique Sanchez, the victim\u2019s oldest daughter.<\/p>\n

According to the Bakersfield California Highway Patrol, the crash happened Saturday night around 9 p.m. on Highway 99 near Ninth Avenue.<\/p>\n

\"One<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Authorities said those inside the Dodge Charger suffered only minor injuries. However, the people inside the Nissan\u2014including Sanchez’s\u2019 father\u2014were critically hurt.<\/p>\n

The victim has been identified as 55-year-old Joel Salomon Sanchez Perez of Vallejo. He died at the scene.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Courtesy:<\/p>\n

Courtesy: Leann Dominique Sanchez<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was extremely devastating my dad is the rock to our family like, he\u2019s everything it still doesn\u2019t even feel real,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy:<\/p>\n

Courtesy: Leann Dominique Sanchez<\/p>\n

The family had been traveling to Bakersfield to spend Easter weekend together.<\/p>\n

Both survived but suffered serious injuries.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe 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,\u201d Sanchez said about her younger sister.<\/p>\n

Her stepmother remains hospitalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has a lot of fractures in her chest, ribs and then I believe her spine,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Authorities identified the driver as Jaymar Garcia Alejo of Shafter. According to officials, he showed signs of intoxication and admitted to drinking before getting behind the wheel.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"DELANO<\/p>\n

For Sanchez and her family, the loss has been overwhelming.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur family is honestly just lost without him it just doesn\u2019t feel real it\u2019s honestly super unfair that one decision getting in the car and driving it changed our lives forever,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Now, the family is calling for accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely want justice for my dad he deserved to come home that night,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n

They are also urging others to think twice before driving under the influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not worth it you know, it\u2019s not worth it at all get a Lyft, an Uber we have so many things accessible to us in minutes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Sanchez described her father as a hardworking and loving man who was deeply devoted to his family.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Courtesy:<\/p>\n

Courtesy: Leann Dominique Sanchez<\/p>\n

The family has created a GoFundMe <\/a>to help cover funeral expenses, medical bills, and ongoing support for the children he leaves behind.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DELANO, Calif. \u2014 A family is grieving after a deadly wrong-way crash on Highway 99 in Delano claimed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":274631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-274630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}