Another detail has emerged in the fatal car crash that left popular car enthusiast James Wehr and a young woman dead in Southern California. His family announced a celebration of life for Wehr on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Irvine Police Department found two people dead in a vehicle after it responded to a single-car collision after midnight on Sept. 13.
The Orange County Sheriff Coroner’s Division has not released the identities of the victims as of the late morning of Wednesday, said Kyle Oldoerp, a spokesperson for the Irvine Police Department.
However, family members have identified the victims in the incident as Wehr, the 27-year-old behind the weekly car show South OC Cars and Coffee, and Lexie Kramer, 22, according to reports from the New York
Post and KTLA.
What we know about the car crash
Irvine Police Department and the Orange County Fire Authority responded to a car on fire at Culver Drive and Deerfield Avenue at 12:18 a.m. Sept. 13. Two people were found dead inside the car after the fire was put out, the Irvine Police Department said.
A preliminary investigation found that when a traffic light turned green, the driver of a 2019 McLaren traveled “at a high rate of speed” before losing control of the car, which struck a curb and a tree. The car was split into two and caught fire, according to the Irvine Police Department.
Oldoerp, in an emailed statement, said that Irvine Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team will “examine all possible contributing factors to the collision, including roadway and vehicle conditions, the vehicle’s speed and any factors that may have affected the driver’s operation of the McLaren.”
Newport Beach Police Department stopped the vehicle earlier in the evening for loud exhaust, Oldoerp told the USA TODAY Network said in a phone call. The driver of the vehicle was let go with a warning.
Oldoerp didn’t have details regarding the “high rate of speed” the car was traveling, but said detectives will be able to approximate it through their investigation.
The investigation into the collision will take months to complete, Oldoerp said in an email.
Celebration of life planned for James Wehr
The Wehr family, in a social media post published by South OC Cars and Coffee, invited their community to remember “our son James and his friend Lexi.” South OC Cars and Coffee have 145,000 followers on Instagram.
“This Saturday, we will be gathering to remember and honor James, who meant so much to so many in the car community.”
The celebration of life will be held at the Outlets at San Clemente on Sept. 19.
Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Popular car enthusiast killed in SoCal crash. What happened?
