Brookfield resident James O’Connor died outside his auto body shop in South Salem, N.Y., late Wednesday night after the engine of the car he was working on burst into flames, New York state police said.
O’Connor, the 48-year-old owner of South Salem Auto Repair at 1 Old Oscaleta Road, was working alone on a Volkswagen Golf after hours. He attempted to put the fire out, but his extinguisher didn’t work, prompting him to push the car, which was on the side of the building, toward the street, according to New York State Trooper Melissa McMorris.
Upon doing so, the car side-swiped a parked car, knocking O’Connor over and pinning him between the two cars.
A neighbor called 911 around 10 p.m., but O’Connor was dead upon the arrival of firefighters and police.
O’Connor died of burns and smoke inhalation, according to the Westchester County medical examiner’s office.
O’Connor’s death “appears accidental,” McMorris said, adding that there was no structural damage beyond the two cars in the accident and several others that were damaged in the fire.