{"id":467753,"date":"2026-09-18T09:08:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T09:08:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/467753\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T09:08:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T09:08:12","slug":"california-mom-killed-in-fatal-tamarack-beach-dui-hit-and-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/467753\/","title":{"rendered":"California mom killed in fatal Tamarack Beach DUI hit-and-run"},"content":{"rendered":"

A California mom of three was killed in a suspected DUI hit-and-run <\/a>Tuesday night \u2014 allegedly at the hands of a man who already had a prior DUI conviction.<\/p>\n

Fernando Saldana, a 26-year-old Escondido man, was arrested after Vanessa Wheyland was struck near Redwood Avenue and Carlsbad Boulevard, close to Tamarack Beach<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Police said Saldana fled the scene after the crash.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast night, Vanessa was tragically struck and killed by a driver, leaving behind her loving husband and three children,\u201d Nicole Check wrote in a GoFundMe<\/a> for Wheyland\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

Vanessa Michelson Wheyland (left) is pictured in this undated photo. Wheyland was killed after being struck by a driver. Gofundme<\/p>\n

A proud graduate of San Diego State University, she also served as the CEO of Wheyland Electric. Gofundme<\/p>\n

Wheyland was found in the roadway with major injuries just before 8 p.m. after what friends said was a family walk. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.<\/p>\n

Police tracked Saldana to a location just over a mile from the crash using evidence left at the scene, information from community members and automated license plate readers.<\/p>\n

Wheyland was tragically struck and killed by a driver, leaving behind her husband and three children. Gofundme<\/p>\n

Wheyland was found in the roadway with major injuries just before 8 p.m. after what friends said was a family walk. Gofundme<\/p>\n

Saldana\u2019s prior DUI conviction took on particular significance in the case. Under California law, that prior conviction allowed prosecutors to charge him with second-degree murder under the \u201cWatson Murder\u201d doctrine.<\/p>\n

He was also arrested on charges of leaving the scene of a collision resulting in injury or death, driving under the influence causing injury or death, and gross vehicular manslaughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cVanessa was a devoted wife, an incredible mother, and a cherished friend whose love and presence touched so many people.\u201d Gofundme<\/p>\n

\u201cVanessa was a devoted wife, an incredible mother, and a cherished friend whose love and presence touched so many people,\u201d Check wrote.<\/p>\n

A proud graduate of San Diego State University, she also served as the CEO<\/a> of Wheyland Electric, a prominent electrical contracting company catering to Carlsbad and the greater San Diego Area.<\/p>\n

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The Carlsbad Police Department has not released any information regarding Saldana\u2019s citizenship status. He was booked into the Vista Detention Facility and is set to face a judge Friday.<\/p>\n

One Instagram user pointed to California\u2019s laws after Wheyland\u2019s death, writing: \u201cSo sad- CA needs tougher deterrents and stronger laws.\u201d<\/p>\n

A memorial has been set up for her at Tamarack Beach. NBC 7<\/p>\n

The deadly crash has also fueled frustration among neighbors who told NBC 7<\/a> they have seen several crashes along the roadway, including fatal crashes, with each loss devastating the community.<\/p>\n

A memorial has been set up for her at Tamarack Beach, where loved ones plan to hold a vigil Thursday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer family was her entire world, and this devastating loss has left everyone who loved her heartbroken,\u201d Check wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A California mom of three was killed in a suspected DUI hit-and-run Tuesday night \u2014 allegedly at the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467754,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,9,8,11077,1431,4182,161240,74,6207,3586],"class_list":["post-467753","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-dui","tag-family","tag-metro","tag-motherhood","tag-san-diego","tag-tragedy","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467753","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=467753"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/467753\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/467754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=467753"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=467753"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=467753"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}