Every Saturday morning at the Outlets at San Clemente, something genuinely good happens. Cars line up. People talk. James Wehr helped build that — a weekly automotive gathering that became a real fixture in the local car community. On September 13, 2026, Wehr, 27, died when the 2019 McLaren he was traveling in crashed and caught fire in Irvine, where the highest driver death rates are often tied to high-performance vehicles. A second occupant, identified by multiple outlets as Alexis “Lexi” Kramer, 22, also died. All official sources had not fully confirmed her identity at the time of reporting.
What Happened on Culver Drive
Police confirm the McLaren stopped at a red light, then never made it through the intersection.
According to Irvine police, the 2019 McLaren was northbound on Culver Drive at Deerfield Avenue when it stopped for a red light. The light turned green. The vehicle accelerated, lost control, struck a curb and a tree, split in two, and caught fire. Both occupants died at the scene. The Irvine Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation team is handling the reconstruction, and the investigation remains active.
Key confirmed details:
- Date and location: September 13, 2026, Culver Drive at Deerfield Avenue, Irvine
- Vehicle: 2019 McLaren
- Victims: James Wehr, 27; Alexis “Lexi” Kramer, 22 (second identification not confirmed by all outlets)
- Investigation: Irvine PD Major Accident Investigation team, ongoing
- South OC Cars and Coffee operates weekly, every Saturday, at the Outlets at San Clemente
The Community He Left Behind
Tributes moved fast across Southern California car culture — a measure of how visible Wehr had become at just 27.
Wehr co-founded South OC Cars and Coffee alongside his father Simon. The event’s own site lists Simon and James as the organizers, alongside Sarah and a volunteer crew who keep things running week to week. Building a weekly gathering with that kind of consistency takes real organizational work — the unglamorous kind that rarely makes it into a post but shows up every Saturday morning without fail.
After news broke, enthusiast groups and automotive brands across Southern California posted tributes online. The response was immediate. His family confirmed his death through Instagram and asked for privacy.
Their statement requires no embellishment:
“We lost our darling son and brother James in a motor accident.” — Wehr family, via Instagram
The family’s request for space deserves to be honored as publicly as the loss itself was shared.
What Comes Next
The investigation remains open, and the community that gathered around Wehr’s work faces its first Saturdays without him.
The Irvine PD Major Accident Investigation team continues its work, with no findings yet made public and no timeline announced for conclusions. South OC Cars and Coffee has not announced any plans regarding the event’s future. What Wehr built over years of Saturday mornings — the cars, the regulars, the sense of place — now belongs to the community that showed up for it. Whether and how that continues is a question only that community can answer.
