Albert Duris Fatal Crash @ Milwaukee Mile 1950
Albert John Duris was born in Bedford, Ohio, on 28 March 1924. His parents, John and Gisella, were both Czechoslovakian immigrants. Duris also had a sister and three brothers.
Al Duris was a veteran driver, having competed in AAA and CSRA midget races for the several seasons in the Midwest with his own Offenhauser-powered race car. He was a World War 2 veteran, too, having enlisted on 28 January 1943. Duris served in the 2858th Engineer Service Detachment as a Technician Third Class. After the war he was employed a truck driver.
In July of 1950 Duris was involved in an unfortunate accident when a wheel of his racing car flew off in a race at the Cincinnati Race Bowl. Two cousins, twelve-year-old Jimmy Karp and ten-year-old Robert Ellis, were killed when the wheel landed on a crowded grandstand.
A month later, on 20 August, Duris participated in the 100-mile National AAA Midget Auto Championship race at the Milwaukee State Fairgrounds, mostly known as Milwaukee Mile. That prestigious event took place on the second day of the Milwaukee annual fair. On the first lap of the race Duris' midget car went out of control and crashed through a fence. It then landed upside down in the dry concrete bed of Honey Creek and burst into flames. Driver Ray Crawford of Los Angeles swerved his car and crashed into the same fence to avoid hitting Duris' out-of-control car. Crawford then sustained burns on his hands attempting to remove Duris from the burning wreckage. Duris fiancée, Miss Lillian Parker, also of Bedford, was in the grandstand crowd of 15,000 that witnessed the accident. Duris was killed instantly.
R.I.P
Al Duris was a veteran driver, having competed in AAA and CSRA midget races for the several seasons in the Midwest with his own Offenhauser-powered race car. He was a World War 2 veteran, too, having enlisted on 28 January 1943. Duris served in the 2858th Engineer Service Detachment as a Technician Third Class. After the war he was employed a truck driver.
In July of 1950 Duris was involved in an unfortunate accident when a wheel of his racing car flew off in a race at the Cincinnati Race Bowl. Two cousins, twelve-year-old Jimmy Karp and ten-year-old Robert Ellis, were killed when the wheel landed on a crowded grandstand.
A month later, on 20 August, Duris participated in the 100-mile National AAA Midget Auto Championship race at the Milwaukee State Fairgrounds, mostly known as Milwaukee Mile. That prestigious event took place on the second day of the Milwaukee annual fair. On the first lap of the race Duris' midget car went out of control and crashed through a fence. It then landed upside down in the dry concrete bed of Honey Creek and burst into flames. Driver Ray Crawford of Los Angeles swerved his car and crashed into the same fence to avoid hitting Duris' out-of-control car. Crawford then sustained burns on his hands attempting to remove Duris from the burning wreckage. Duris fiancée, Miss Lillian Parker, also of Bedford, was in the grandstand crowd of 15,000 that witnessed the accident. Duris was killed instantly.
R.I.P