James Wehr Stopped By Cops Moments Before Fatal Crash, Was in Driver's Seat

James Wehr was behind the wheel of the McLaren that crashed and killed him Sunday ... and cops had actually stopped the vehicle earlier that night.

A spokesperson for the Irvine Police Department tells TMZ ... Newport Beach Police Department stopped the McLaren before the fatal crash and gave the driver a warning.

As we previously reported, Wehr was later driving the 2019 McLaren in Irvine when it crashed shortly after midnight. The impact split the McLaren apart and caused it to burst into flames, killing him and a 22-year-old woman.

According to police, the vehicle was stopped at a red light near Culver Drive and Deerfield Avenue before accelerating northbound when the light turned green. The driver then lost control, veered off the road, hit a curb, and slammed into a tree.

There has also been speculation online that a woman was behind the wheel of the McLaren, but an Irvine PD spokesperson tells TMZ ... "based on evidence, that just before the collision, a female was in the passenger seat and not the driver's seat." 

The second person in the McLaren has since been identified as 22-year-old Alexis "Lexi" Kramer. Her family confirmed her identity to us following the crash, explaining the two met via Instagram DM and Wehr flew Kramer out from Florida.

Wehr was known in the Southern California car scene as the co-founder of South OC Cars and Coffee, a massive weekly gathering for automotive enthusiasts in San Clemente.