The investigation into the fiery Irvine crash involving car influencer James Wehr has taken a new turn after his widow hired an attorney to examine whether road conditions may have played a role in the high-speed collision.
Wehr, 27, was behind the wheel of a 2019 McLaren when the vehicle crashed near the intersection of Culver Drive and Deerfield Avenue in Irvine shortly after midnight on September 13.
His passenger, 22-year-old Alexis “Lexi” Kramer, was also inside the vehicle.
The McLaren reportedly traveled at a high rate of speed after the traffic light changed, then lost control, struck a curb and a tree, split apart and caught fire.
Both people inside the vehicle suffered fatal injuries.
Now, several days after the crash, questions are emerging about exactly what happened in the moments before the McLaren left the roadway.
And one of those questions involves something that may have been difficult to see at first: water on the road.
Widow’s attorney launches separate investigation
Emma Wehr, James’ wife, has retained attorney Corey Higgins to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash.
In a statement shared publicly, Higgins said his team believes a significant amount of water was present on the roadway that night despite otherwise clear weather.
The attorney described the condition as potentially hazardous and said his firm is investigating where the water came from, how long it had been present and whether another party could eventually be responsible for the condition.
That does not mean investigators have concluded that water caused the crash.
Instead, it represents a new line of inquiry being pursued by Wehr’s family.
Higgins also said his team is examining the McLaren itself, including its crashworthiness and the performance of its safety systems during the collision.
The goal, according to the attorney, is to preserve evidence and determine whether multiple factors may have contributed to what happened.
That distinction is important because the official investigation remains active.
Police are still examining multiple possible factors
Irvine police have previously said their preliminary investigation found that the McLaren was traveling at a high rate of speed before the driver lost control.
According to authorities, the vehicle was traveling north on Culver Drive after the traffic signal changed. It then moved toward the right side of the roadway, struck a curb and collided with a tree.
The impact caused the McLaren to split apart and catch fire.
Police have not publicly concluded that speed was the only factor.
In fact, Irvine Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team has said investigators are examining a range of possible contributing circumstances, including roadway conditions, vehicle conditions and the speed of the McLaren.
That leaves several important questions open.
Was the roadway wet enough to affect traction?
Where did the water come from?
How long had it been there?
Did it have any measurable effect on the vehicle’s handling?
And did the McLaren’s safety systems perform as expected during the impact?
Those questions may take time to answer.
New video adds another piece to the timeline
Video footage obtained by TMZ has also provided investigators and the public with a clearer look at the moments immediately before the collision.
The footage appears to show the McLaren accelerating after the traffic light changes.
The vehicle then reaches a wet portion of the roadway before the driver appears to brake. The McLaren swerves toward the right and strikes a tree.
The vehicle catches fire almost immediately after the impact.
Irvine police have confirmed that their Major Accident Investigation Team has reviewed the footage and is conducting an extensive investigation that could take months to complete.
The video may help investigators establish the vehicle’s movements, but it does not by itself answer why the driver lost control.
That is why investigators are continuing to examine the roadway, vehicle and other evidence from the scene.
James had been pulled over hours earlier
Another detail has emerged from the timeline.
Several hours before the crash, Wehr was stopped by Newport Beach police.
According to the Newport Beach Police Department, an officer conducted a traffic stop around 7:21 p.m. on September 12 after observing a vehicle with a loud exhaust.
The driver received a warning and was allowed to continue.
The traffic stop occurred only a few hours before the Irvine crash.
There is currently no indication from authorities that the earlier traffic stop was directly connected to the later collision.
It is simply another confirmed event in the timeline investigators are now piecing together.
Alexis Kramer was the second person inside the McLaren
The passenger has since been identified as Alexis “Lexi” Kramer, a 22-year-old Florida native who had traveled to California shortly before the crash.
Her family has described her as kind, funny and charismatic.
Kramer was also involved in the automotive and modeling worlds and had appeared in the 2026 Hooters calendar.
According to her family, she had flown from Florida to California on September 11 to spend the weekend with Wehr.
The two reportedly spent time together before attending Wehr’s South OC Cars & Coffee event.
Her family has also shared their own account of the relationship between Kramer and Wehr, including claims about what Wehr had told Kramer regarding his marriage.
Those claims have not been independently established, and they are separate from the official investigation into the collision.
For investigators, the central issue remains the circumstances of the crash itself.
James Wehr’s connection to the car community
Wehr was widely known among Southern California car enthusiasts as a co-founder of South OC Cars & Coffee.
The weekly gathering in San Clemente has become a major event for people interested in performance cars, supercars, classic vehicles and other automotive culture.
According to the event’s website, the gathering can attract between 1,000 and 3,000 vehicles.
Wehr helped run the event alongside his family and volunteers and had built a significant presence within the Southern California automotive community.
His passing has therefore been felt well beyond his immediate family.
Tributes have appeared throughout the car community, while his family has asked for privacy as they work through the loss.
His mother, Sarah Wehr, also shared a personal tribute remembering her son and the person he had become.
The investigation is now moving beyond the crash scene
The latest developments suggest that the investigation may ultimately involve several different questions rather than one simple explanation.
Police are examining how fast the McLaren was traveling.
They are looking at the vehicle’s movements before the collision.
They are examining the roadway.
And now Wehr’s family is separately investigating whether water on the pavement created a condition that may have affected the vehicle.
At this point, there is no official finding that the water caused the crash.
Likewise, there is no final determination that any particular factor was solely responsible.
The official investigation remains underway.
For Emma Wehr and the rest of James’ family, however, understanding exactly what happened is important not only for closure but also for determining whether anything could have prevented the collision.
Their attorney has said the family wants every potential contributing factor examined and the available evidence preserved.
What happens next?
The Irvine Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team is expected to continue its work, which authorities have indicated could take months.
Investigators will likely continue examining the roadway, vehicle data, video footage, witness accounts and other evidence collected from the scene.
The question of the water on the roadway is also likely to receive further attention as Wehr’s attorney attempts to determine its source and whether it had any meaningful connection to the loss of control.
For now, several parts of the timeline are known.
A 2019 McLaren was traveling at a high rate of speed shortly after midnight on September 13.
The vehicle lost control, struck a curb and a tree, split apart and caught fire.
James Wehr and Alexis “Lexi” Kramer were inside.
Both suffered fatal injuries.
And investigators are still working to determine the full sequence of events that led to the collision.
The newest questions surrounding the roadway do not replace the official investigation. Instead, they add another possible factor for investigators to examine.
Until that work is complete, the precise cause of the crash remains unresolved.
For the families of James and Lexi, the hope is that a complete reconstruction of those final moments will eventually provide a clearer explanation of what happened on Culver Drive that night.