Wagon Company. Duryea sought out investors and buyers while his brother, Frank Duryea, primarily handled the mechanical side of the business. A Duryea car was involved in America's first known auto accident. New York City motorist Henry Wells hit a bicyclist with his new Duryea. The rider suffered a broken leg, Wells spent a night in jail and the nation's first traffic accident was recorded. In 1913, George Vanderbilt purchased and drove a Stevens-Duryea, but was one of few people in the United States who could afford one. His 1913 Duryea is Vanderbilt's only original car kept at his Biltmore Estate. Duryea ceased manufacturing in 1917. Duryea died of a heart attack in Philadelphia on September 28, 1938, and was buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery, West Oak Lane. Legacy The annual Duryea Hillclimb is named in his honor. See also Elwood Haynes, previously credited with the first American gasoline automobile by the Smithsonian Institution References Further reading Duryea, Charles; Homans, James E. (1916) The Automoble Book Sturgis & Walton, New York; at Open Library. The first chapter briefly surveys the early evolution of automobiles, with mention of his own involvement from 1891 and the famous victory of the Duryea Motor Wagon in the first London-to Brighton race (1996). External links 1861 births 1938 deaths American founders of automobile manufacturers Duryea People from Canton, Illinois Businesspeople from Springfield, Massachusetts Burials at Ivy Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) American automotive pioneers American automotive engineers