High-Speed Crash in Irvine Results in Two Fatalities

A high-speed car crash in Irvine took the lives of two individuals early Sunday morning. One of the victims was connected to a prominent Orange County car show, which is a major weekly event in San Clemente drawing thousands of vehicles, according to local police and social media updates.

Irvine police issued a statement saying that the tragic incident involved a 2019 McLaren. The vehicle crashed into a tree near Culver Drive and Deerfield Avenue at 12:18 a.m. Police reported that the car halted at a red light and then accelerated rapidly when the light turned green. The driver then lost control, causing the car to jump the curb and hit a tree. The impact was so severe that the car split in two and caught fire. Authorities have yet to release the identities of the victims.

The well-known Instagram page “South OC Cars and Coffee” identified one victim as 27-year-old James Wehr. Wehr was a co-founder of the group, which arranges a widely attended weekly car show in San Clemente. This event regularly features a vast array of performance and muscle cars, as detailed on their website.

The Instagram post stated, “This morning, just after midnight, we lost our darling son and brother James, in a motor accident. We respectfully ask for privacy as a family, as we process this profound loss.”