Milpitas resident Ewart Speer died doing what he loved the most, driving his antique car, a black 1931 Ford Model A.
Speer, 75, a board member of the Silicon Valley Model A Restorers Club, was headed on Saturday morning to a gathering of car enthusiasts at the Mariposa County Fairgrounds. He was driving eastbound on State Route 140 from Merced, according to the California Highway Patrol.
It was the last trip for Speer and his Model A. He is estimated to have driven 40,000-50,000 miles in the Model A for the last five years by Bill Rose, president of the club.
"He was a very enthusiastic member of our club," said Rose. "He's been all over ... Casper [WY], Medford [OR] and Vancouver [Canada]."
Other club members had planned to attend the three-day weekend event but got sick at the last minute. The event was the Model A Ford Club of America Central Coast Regional Group Jamboree.
Speer had just gotten back from a five-day tour to Death Valley, according to Rose, and had another long-distance trip planned in a couple of months.
Speer is survived his wife, two sons and a daughter.
