A Southern California car show founder and a 22-year-old Hooters calendar model died early Sunday when their McLaren split apart and burst into flames after striking a tree in Irvine.
James Wehr, 27, co-founder of the popular car meetup South OC Cars and Coffee, and Alexis “Lexi” Kramer, a bartender from Lakeland, Florida, were killed in the crash, which happened just after midnight at the intersection of Culver Drive and Deerfield Avenue.
According to an Irvine Police Department news release, officers and Orange County Fire Authority crews responded to a report of a vehicle fire at 12:18 a.m. Sunday. A preliminary investigation determined the 2019 McLaren had been stopped at a red light when it accelerated northbound at high speed after the signal turned green. The driver lost control, veered right, struck a curb and a tree, and the vehicle split in two and caught fire, police said.
A nearby witness described the moment of impact. “I heard a big like, skrrrr, and then a big boom,” the witness, identified only as Sid, told ABC7, saying he then saw the wreckage engulfed in flames.
TMZ later obtained dash-cam footage of the crash. The footage shows Mr. Wehr’s McLaren passing another vehicle just after the light turned green, then braking over a wet section of pavement before swerving right and striking the tree.
Newport Beach police had stopped Mr. Wehr roughly five hours before the fatal crash. According to TMZ, a department spokesperson said an officer had noticed the McLaren’s loud exhaust near Newport Boulevard and Finley Avenue at 7:21 p.m. Saturday and initiated the stop, which resulted in a warning.
Online speculation had suggested Ms. Kramer may have been driving, but an Irvine police spokesperson told TMZ that evidence showed “a female was in the passenger seat and not the driver’s seat.”
Mr. Wehr co-founded South OC Cars and Coffee with his father, Simon, a weekly San Clemente gathering that grew into what organizers call the world’s largest weekly car show. Following his death, his wife, Emma, posted a tribute calling him “one of the best people I’ve had the pleasure of knowing.”
Ms. Kramer, whose Instagram bio identified her as a 2026 Hooters calendar model, had recently earned an associate degree from Polk State College and had just accepted a new leadership role at a new company, according to her sister, Gracie.
According to Gracie Kramer, her sister met Mr. Wehr on Instagram about a month before the crash and had flown to California — on a flight Mr. Wehr paid for — to meet him in person for the first time. Gracie told reporters that Mr. Wehr had told her sister he was separating from his wife, though Orange County court records did not show a divorce case had been filed. Those statements about Mr. Wehr’s marital status come solely from Kramer’s sister; The Times has not independently verified them.
“That man lied to my sister and said his divorce was finalizing,” Gracie said, according to her account.
The investigation remains ongoing. Irvine police said their Major Accident Investigation Team is continuing to examine the collision and is asking anyone with information to come forward.
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