Tragedy strikes Lime Rock historics

The annual Labor Day weekend historic racing festival over Lime Rock Park was struck by tragedy Saturday with the first fatality of the event's 32-year history.

Lee Duran, 73, of Lyme, Conn., was pronounced dead at Sharon Hospital of unspecified injuries after a single-car accident in his 1934 MG PA Special.  Lime Rock Park press officer Rick Roso as saying Duran lost control of his car in the Downhill turn. Eyewitnesses reported seeing the car flip and come to rest upside down.

"Lee Duran was a name that we would see virtually every year at the historic festival," Roso told the Hartford Courant. "I know he has been racing his whole life."

State police said the crash remains under investigation.

The crash comes on the third day of Lime Rock's five-day historic racing festival, which features some 300 vintage cars taking part in 30-plus races, as well as a car show.