Lewisboro Car Fire Claims Life of Connecticut Man

The owner of a Lewisboro auto repair shop was killed Wednesday night when he became pinned by a car he was working on that caught fire, according to state police.

James J. O’Connor, 48, of Brookfield, Conn., was working on a Volkswagen Golf outside of his shop, South Salem Auto Repair on Old Oscaleta Road, when the engine compartment caught fire.

State police said O’Connor tried to put out the blaze with a fire extinguisher but was unsuccessful. He then tried to push the car away from the side of the building, in an attempt to save the structure, but in doing so the Golf ”side-swiped a parked vehicle causing O’Connor to fall and become pinned between the two” cars.

“At this time, the fire has been deemed accidental in nature,” police said in a statement, adding that several vehicles were damaged in the fire.

The blaze occurred just before 10 p.m. A neighbor across the street heard the commotion, saw the flames and called 911.

Somers Fire personnel responded to the scene and extinguished the fire, according to state police.

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