Article content continued

The Telegraph reported that Carey was driving a 1903 Knox Porcupine classic car in the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run when he took a wrong turn onto the M23 motorway and collided with another vehicle. The vintage car was from his personal collection of favourites, according to Visbach.

Carey’s wife Billi was also in the 116-year-old car when it crashed and was airlifted to a nearby hospital with injuries, according to The Telegraph. Sussex police told The Telegraph she was still in hospital Monday but in stable condition.

The Veteran Car Run is an annual celebration of the Light Locomotives on the Highway Act, which was passed in 1896, allowing certain vehicles to travel 10 miles per hour faster and removing the requirement for cars to be preceded by a man on foot with a red flag.

About 400 cars took part in the rally which “has passed through the same stretch of the A23 since 1974,” reported The Telegraph. Sussex police told The Telegraph no arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.

Carey began a career in oil and gas in 1956 when he was still a teenager, working on oil rigs and road-building crews. In the early 1970s, he opened J&L Supply, an oilfield service company.

Around that time, he began collecting and restoring vintage cars with his first being a 1956 Lincoln convertible. His collection grew as he added more cars, trucks, gas pumps, signage and other memorabilia.

“He worked really hard. Coming from humble beginnings, he worked his way up to building his company and patenting a design for diamond-tipping drill bits and replacing those diamond tips. He established J&L Supply,” said Visbach, adding that his passion for collecting also included antique pottery and game-hunting trophies.