The victim was James Wehr, 27, owner of the South OC Cars and Coffee event series. He died along with another unidentified person in the vehicle.
Local police reported the accident occurred at approximately 0:20 on 13/9 at the intersection of Culver Boulevard and Deerfield Road in Irvine, California. A 2019 McLaren struck a tree at high speed, causing the vehicle to split in two and erupt in intense flames. After firefighters extinguished the blaze, two individuals were found dead inside the vehicle.
Earlier that day, Wehr had been involved in managing the regular car event. Just one hour before the tragic incident, he posted a photo on social media showing his car seemingly pulled over by a police patrol vehicle in the Newport Beach area.
A preliminary investigation indicated that the McLaren had stopped, and when the traffic light turned green, the driver accelerated suddenly and lost control. The car veered right, hit the curb, and then collided with a tree.
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James Wehr and his McLaren supercar. *Photo: James Wehr* |
South OC Cars & Coffee began in 2017, with weekly car meetups initially held in a San Clemente store's parking lot. As the Saturday gatherings grew popular, Wehr and his father, Simon Wehr, relocated the event to the Outlets shopping center in San Clemente.
The weekly gatherings took place from 9-11 h, "rain or shine", attracting approximately 1,000-3,000 vehicles, including supercars, luxury sports cars, classic cars, muscle cars, tuned cars, and motorcycles.
It remains unclear who was driving the McLaren at the time of the accident.
My Anh (according to KTLA)
