Dan Cerio while competing at a sled event in 2010.

What was to be a day of celebration as the U.S. 131 Motorsports Park in Martin, Mich. opened its 50th anniversary racing season turned somber on Saturday when sled racer Dan Cerio of Manlius, N.Y. was tragically killed in a racing accident at the conclusion of a run.

According to news reports based on eyewitness accounts and those of the Alleghan County Sheriff’s Department, Cerio, just 22 years of age, hit the right side guardrail at the completion of an elimination round pass at an estimated 170 miles per hour. Cerio’s sled then ricocheted to the left retaining wall, ejecting him into a grassy area. Deputies were dispatched to the scene at 9:16 p.m.

The opening day of Lane Automotive bracket racing featured the AmSnow Outlaw Sled Series for modified snowmobiles competing on the asphalt quarter-mile. As described by local racers and fans, Cerio came from a family of snowmobile enthusiasts and was a highly-skilled and accomplished snowmobile rider and racer on a number of terrains. Like many of the sleds that compete on asphalt, Cerio’s machine was a purpose built racer intended for high speeds.

Track General Manager Jason Peterson released the following statement on the track’s Facebook page: “It is with great sadness to report that Dan Cerio succumbed to injuries during eliminations after he hit the guard wall at the completion of his run this evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”

In an interview with Michigan Live, fellow snowmobiler Jeff Kerridge, who was in the lane opposite of Cerio, recalled witnessing “a large amount of white smoke” trailing from his sled as the pair neared the finish line before Cerio spun at an estimated 45-degree angle into Kerridges’ lane.

According to Kerridge, the impact was “extreme.”

Cerio was a 2008 graduate of Fayetteville-Manlius High School and had spent much of his life around high-performance off-road vehicles; from snowmobiles to four-wheelers, motorcycles, and the like. He and his family were regular competitors at the ESTA Safety Park Dragstrip in Cicero, N.Y. He is survived by his parents Dan and Therese Cerio, a brother, Nicholas, and a sister, Stephanie Cerio.

Information from Michigan Live and The Post-Standard contributed to this report.