Mom, 2 daughters killed in California crash after celebrating teen’s birthday
Vanessa Schoettler photographed alongside her daughter Kloie, and Kylie. The photo is courtesy of GoFundMe.
FRESNO, Calif. - A mother and her two daughters were returning home after celebrating one of the girls’ upcoming birthdays in Central California when their night ended in tragedy. All three were killed in a crash early Sunday morning.
Highway 99 crash
What we know:
The crash happened around 12:45 a.m. on Highway 99 north of 7th Standard Road, outside Bakersfield, and involved at least three vehicles, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that one of the vehicles was traveling north in the southbound lanes when it collided with two other vehicles. One of those vehicles was carrying the woman and her two daughters.
Authorities have not said which vehicle was traveling in the wrong direction.
Mother and daughters identified by loved ones
Dig deeper:
Authorities have not publicly identified the victims, but a GoFundMe campaign created by loved ones identified them as Vanessa Schoettler and her daughters, Kloie and Kylie.
According to the campaign, Schoettler and her daughters had attended a concert in Fresno on Saturday to celebrate Kloie’s upcoming.
"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," the GoFundMe states.
Schoettler leaves behind a 15-year-old son who shares the same birthday as his sister Kloie, who would have turned 17 on Thursday.