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The Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward, Jr Sprint Car Race Death

Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 2:29 pm
by Robbie
Over the weekend, the tragic car crash death of Kevin Ward, Jr at the hands of Tony Stewart made headlines. Tony Stewart showed a lot of sadness and remorse and decided not to attend another race scheduled for the following day. Several articles such as this one http://www.si.com/racing/2014/08/10/ton ... ifications states that Stewart faces several criminal charges and civil lawsuits in addition to a loss of endorsement deals.



The rather scary and graphical video has been replayed countless times and I'm surprised how Stewart could possibly face any charges of any kind. As tragic and terrible as Kevin Ward's death, I'd say he completely brought it upon himself and made some very dumb, idiotic, foolish, and unfortunately fateful road rage decisions that could have been avoided entirely if made some more mature decisions. Ward may have been relatively young at the age of 20, but as a professional race car driver even 20 year-olds should know basic black and white decisions. :juggle:

In a professional car race, crashes are expected from time to time and after a crash the most important thing is that nobody is hurt and if someone is hurt, get medical help right away. In this particular case, a minor collision by Tony Stewart caused Kevin Ward, Jr to go off the track and possibly exit the race. The most important thing was that Ward was unhurt as he was able to leave his vehicle on his own. Now IF Ward really believed that Stewart intentionally forced him off the track then there are legal resources in such kind of situations. He should have filed an official complaint to the race organizers and if after investigation the accusations were valid, then the officials could disqualify Stewart and in more serious cases, fine or suspend him. But for Ward to leave his vehicle and then walk right into the track with lots of vehicles at high speed heading towards him in an attempt to flag down another driver for the sake of retribution is essentially suicide.

As terrible as the incident is, Tony Stewart shouldn't face any charges of any kind because IMHO Ward is 100% responsible over his tragic death.

Re: The Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward, Jr Sprint Car Race Death

Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 2:49 pm
by Robbie
I guess the other side of the story is that:

1. Ward knew that the yellow flag would have been on and as such, the vehicles would have been driving slower and therefore, safer to walk into the middle of the track.
2. Stewart purposely and intentionally hit Ward for a second time when ran towards him on foot to confront him.

This argument is very weak. Even with the yellow flag is up, race cars still travel relatively fast and especially when completing a turn, it's very hard to react properly if you suddenly see something in the middle of the track. Then, saying that Stewart would intentionally hitting Ward when he's on foot is extremely hard to argue especially since Ward made a point of walking right into his path after another vehicle barely swerved to avoid him. I'd say in 99.999% of the cases if you see someone foot approaching you as a result of road rage, you would quickly attempt to drive away unless the only escape path is directly through your attacker. Purposely killing someone and facing legal consequences over a relatively minor incident is something almost everything would rather avoid.

Re: The Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward, Jr Sprint Car Race Death

Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 3:54 pm
by TheLionKing
Not the smartest decision by Ward to step onto the track while the race is underway.

Re: The Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward, Jr Sprint Car Race Death

Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 4:38 pm
by Sir Purrcival
The problem really stems from the fact that Tony Stewart isn't especially well loved because of some of his own history. If this had been about someone else, I don't think this would even be a discussion.

Re: The Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward, Jr Sprint Car Race Death

Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2014 4:55 pm
by notahomer
Can understand Wards frustration but IMO, its not safe running onto a race track. Intent will be hard to prove, IMO, to get a conviction. If he says he didn't intend to, hard to prove otherwise, IMO....

Re: The Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward, Jr Sprint Car Race Death

Posted: Thu Sep 11, 2014 2:01 pm
by Robbie
The Sheriff's Office have finished their investigation.
A statement issued by the Sheriff's Office Thursday afternoon said, "The entire thorough investigation, including a forensic video enhancement recently received from the New York State Police Laboratory in Albany, has been submitted to the Office of the Ontario County District for review. The District Attorney's Office, which has been meeting throughout the investigative process with members of the Sheriff's Office, will make a statement late next week advising what action will be taken regarding the investigation."
Personally, I hope the District Attorney will not file any criminal charges against Tony Stewart.

Re: The Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward, Jr Sprint Car Race Death

Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 12:40 pm
by Robbie
As I correctly expected and predicted, Tony Stewart was not charged by a grand jury in the death of Kevin Ward Jr.

And if Ward's family tries to launch a civil suit by suing Stewart, I hope he won't be forced to pay a dime. Ward was essentially committing suicide and being relatively young at 20 still makes him liable for his responsible actions as a professional race car driver to follow smarter procedures in situations that he was faced in.

I wonder though various groups will petition the owner of the Canandaigua Motorsports Park to rename it as Kevin Ward Jr Memorial Speedway.

Re: The Tony Stewart-Kevin Ward, Jr Sprint Car Race Death

Posted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 4:16 pm
by Robbie
Robbie wrote:
Wed Sep 24, 2014 12:40 pm
And if Ward's family tries to launch a civil suit by suing Stewart, I hope he won't be forced to pay a dime. Ward was essentially committing suicide and being relatively young at 20 still makes him liable for his responsible actions as a professional race car driver to follow smarter procedures in situations that he was faced in.
Recent updates on this case.
Three-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart has agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the parents of Kevin Ward Jr., a sprint car racer who was hit and killed by Stewart's car during a 2014 race in upstate New York. Details of the agreement were not announced Thursday at a hearing in federal court before Judge David Hurd. A jury trial had been set to begin May 7.
Whatever amount Tony Stewart settled with, I hope it wasn't too much. As indicated four years ago, I wouldn't have any problems if he settled for absolutely nothing. And as previously mentioned, I'm glad that prosecutors agreed not to bring criminal charges against Stewart.