'Too soon,' 'my other half': Tributes pour in as police probe explosive McLaren crash in Irvine
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Set us as preferred A towering pine tree on Culver Drive in Irvine has become the site of a makeshift memorial for a car influencer and a young woman who were killed early Sunday morning in a fiery crash so violent that the luxury sports car they were riding in split in two pieces.At the base of the charred pine are dozens of bouquets — roses, daisies and white lilies.
A Hot Wheels Porsche and other toy versions of exotic sports cars are scattered among the fallen pine needles — an apparent homage to 27-year-old James Wehr’s passion for cars.Family members identified Wehr, who runs a weekly meetup in San Clemente for car enthusiasts, as one of the victims in the crash.
The passenger was 22-year-old Alexis Kramer, a Florida native, who was visiting Wehr for the weekend, her family told the California Post.The Orange County coroner has not publicly identified the individuals killed.In the hours before the violent crash, Wehr and Kramer reportedly spent time in Newport Beach having dinner, according to published reports.
Newport Beach police confirmed to The Times that Wehr was stopped by an officer on Saturday night, roughly five hours before the crash in Irvine.California LAPD launches “Operation Street Sweeper” to target illegal street takeovers.Wehr was driving near Newport Boulevard and Finley Avenue at 7:21 p.m.
on Saturday when an officer “observed a vehicle with a loud exhaust” and initiated a traffic stop, according to Newport Beach police spokesperson Heather Rangel.“The stop resulted in a warning issued to the driver,” Rangel said.
Authorities have not determined what caused the 2019 McLaren to veer off the road, but investigators believe speed was likely a factor.“The vehicle lost control, crashed and broke into pieces,” Kyle Oldoerp, a spokesperson for the Irvine Police Department, told Th...