EXCLUSIVE Horror after man, 70, decided to drive dangerously behind the wheel of his 1955 Chevy with no seatbelts
Mark Maier, 70, died when his 1955 Chevy Nomad collided with another car and veered off the road into a tree in Newman Lake, Washington.
The vintage car enthusiast was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the car as it burst into flames about 5.15pm on April 25.
Motorists dragged him away from the burning wreck and started CPR, but he was pronounced dead on arrival at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.
Maier had restored the Nomad, nicknamed 'Gypsy Rose', and proudly showed it at vintage cars shows in Spokane and beyond.
He also owned a red 1972 Opel GT that he drove for 6,000 miles in a 20-day trip across the West Coast in May and June 2018.
The Opel had the license plate 'LIL-VET' and Maier wore a US Navy hat, but details of any military career are unknown.
Maier's daughter Michelle Helm shared old photos of her father posing next to the Nomad with his five grandchildren, and riding a vintage motorbike in his youth.
'God gave my dad almost 71 years. I'm thankful for his life, and for the person it shaped me to be,' she wrote.
'Our time is fleeting and how we live is important.'
His friend Matt Graupner posted a montage of Maier working on the Nomad in his garage and driving it around.
'He was a good guy, and I will miss seeing him at all the car shows,' he wrote.
The Spokane County Sheriff's Office explained that Maier was driving along North Idaho Road, south of Trent Avenue, when traffic slowed in front of him.
An Infiniti had slowed to make a left turn, backing up traffic behind it, and Maier switched to the left land to quickly overtake the cars in front of him.
As the Infinity began it's turn, it crashed into Maier's car, causing him to lose control of the car and drive off the road into an embankment and into the tree.
Neither the Infinity driver or his child passenger were injured.
The Spokane County Medical Examiner confirmed Maier died of blunt force trauma from the accident.
Police are still investigating the crash.
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