Billionaire Jim Crown 'Racing' Son-In-Law During Deadly Crash: Report

CHICAGO — The billionaire heir to the Crown family fortune was reportedly trying to top the lap time of his son-in-law when he crashed and died last month on a racetrack.

Crown had been celebrating his 70th birthday with family members at Aspen Motorsports Park in Woody Creek, Colorado, at the time of his death.

Witnesses told investigators from the Pitkin County Sheriff's Office that the brakes on the Spec Racer that James Crown had been driving locked before it skidded into the barrier, Crain's Chicago Business reported.

A driving instructor at at the members-only racetrack told a sheriff's deputy that Crown had been taking lessons how to complete the 1.1-mile track faster, his daughter's 32-year-old husband said he and Crown had been "racing" one another to see who could get the best lap time, according to Crain's.

The sheriff's report said Crown was driving bounced off a tire barricade in front of a concrete wall on a turn after gong "very fast" down a back straightaway, Crain's reported.

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The New Trier High School alum, CEO of Henry Crown and Co. and longtime corporate and philanthropic board member had recently announced plans to reduce Chicago's murder rate with a program to provide jobs to young men in high-crime areas.

His death has been ruled a fatality by the local coroner's office.

Earlier: Billionaire James Crown Dies In One-Car Crash At Colorado Racetrack