Famed NASCAR driver Tony Stewart struck and killed a fellow sprint car driver on a racetrack in upstate New York on Saturday night. As a result of the incident, Stewart withdrew from Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race.
According to Ontario County Sheriff Philip Povero, there are no charges pending at this time as the District Attorney is investigating the accident. Povero said that Stewart was cooperating with the non-criminal investigation and was 'deeply saddened' by the incident. At 10:30 p.m. on August 9th during the Lucas Oil Empire Sprints, 20-year-old Kevin Ward Jr. crashed into the wall after the 14th lap, exited his car, and began walking toward the track and into the racing area. Moments later he was struck by Stewart.
Stewart was behind another sprint car that managed to swerve out of the way and avoid Ward, but Stewart was unable to do the same. He struck Ward, who then was sent 50 feet before landing farther down the track. Ward was immediately rushed to Thompson Hospital in Canandaigua, New York. Unfortunately, the 20-year-old was pronounced dead upon arrival to the hospital. Stewart originally planned to race in the Sprint Cup event on Sunday, but withdrew the morning of.
.@TonyStewart has just released the following statement. pic.twitter.com/UtigLafKWb
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) August 10, 2014
Law enforcement officials will continue their "on-track investigation" of the incident. According to the Associated Press, a witness of the crash said that it appeared Ward was trying to confront Stewart after he forced Ward into the wall on the previous lap - an extremely dangerous undertaking (if it were true) being that the racers still had ten laps to go and were whizzing around the track.
"Next is continuing interviews, a continued evaluation of evidence we have, including video, and there is certainly going to be an evaluation of medical evidence when it is collected from the autopsy," said Povero in this USA Today article.
You can watch a video of the on-track incident below provided by the Youtube. [WARNING: Graphic Contents]
