Saldana pleaded not guilty in a Carlsbad pedestrian's death.

A murder caption stacked with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI, hit-and-run, and driving on a suspended license is a charging theory. A 2023 DUI conviction and a suspended license are background in the complaint. A not-guilty plea and a no-bail hold are process. None of that is a finding that intoxication or causation is proved. Fernando Cruz Saldana, 26, of Escondido, California, pleaded not guilty Friday, in arraignment reporting dated around Sept. 19-21, 2026. He is being held without bail.

On the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, Carlsbad police responded to a vehicle-vs-pedestrian collision in the 3800 block, in the Carlsbad Boulevard and Redwood Avenue area. Secondary reporting puts the Carlsbad Police Department timeline at about 7:46 p.m. Vanessa Wheyland, 45, a mother of three, was struck while crossing and later pronounced dead at a hospital, as reported. The driver fled before officers arrived. A response, a death, and a flight are what police reported. They are not a finding of murder, and they are not a finding of leaving the scene.

Police located the involved vehicle about a mile away using scene evidence, community tips, automated license-plate readers, and air support. Those are investigative steps. They are not a guilty finding. A criminal complaint states Saldana has a prior San Diego County DUI conviction from 2023 and that his license was suspended because of that conviction at the time of this fatality. A prior conviction and a suspension, as the complaint states them, are background. They do not prove he was intoxicated on Sept. 15, and they do not prove he caused the death. He pleaded not guilty to charges including murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI, hit-and-run for leaving the scene resulting in death, and driving on a suspended license. The Friday plea sits in arraignment reporting dated around Sept. 19-21, 2026. Alcohol is suspected as a factor. The medical examiner's cause details and any toxicology are still under investigation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.