Grief makes you do—and say—things you may well not otherwise. So do lawyers. Shortly after an Ontario County, New York, grand jury declined on Tuesday to charge Tony Stewart in the death of Kevin Ward, Jr., the 20-year-old sprint-automobile driver tragically killed when he walked into the path of Stewart’s vehicle on August 9, the Ward loved ones issued this statement:
“Our son got out of his auto throughout caution although the race was suspended. All the other autos have been minimizing speed and not accelerating except for Stewart who intentionally attempted to intimidate Kevin by accelerating and sliding his auto towards him causing this tragedy.
“The concentrate ought to be on Mr. Stewart and not my son. This matter is not at rest and we will pursue all remedies in fairness to Kevin.”
With criminal charges having now been ruled out, this can only be interpreted as an announcement of intent to file a wrongful-death civil lawsuit against Tony Stewart.
It’s indisputable that an upset Ward climbed from his disabled car soon after he hit the wall of the track in Canandaigua, New York, where he and Stewart were competing in an Empire Super Sprint series race. Stewart’s car had slipped higher in the corner, pinching Ward into the wall.
An naturally angry Ward stalked toward Stewart’s vehicle, nevertheless traveling at maybe 40 mph beneath the caution flag, and Stewart’s appropriate rear tire hit Ward. In Ontario County, a grand jury of 23, presented with the proof, voted in majority to “no bill” Stewart, which means they found insufficient evidence to indict him. All of this was integrated in District Attorney Michael Tantillo’s press conference on Tuesday, and none of it was unexpected.
This was, although: Tantillo said that a toxicology report on Ward “indicated [that] at the time of operation, he was under the influence of marijuana” and that “the levels that were determined had been sufficient to impair judgment.”
Probably this does not totally explain why a young driver not previously recognized as a hothead would climb from his car and confront yet another driver, at speed, more than a comparatively minor accident—it seems Ward could have changed his flat correct rear tire and continued, and some experienced dirt-track drivers have viewed the now-infamous video and recommended Ward should have backed off, turned low, and driven back beneath Stewart’s vehicle. But rather than the need to explain why a driver would climb out of his auto, the question is now why a driver would climb into a 700-hp dirt-track sprint auto beneath the influence of marijuana. They’re hazardous race automobiles, a point driven residence by the death these days of a sprint-vehicle driver during practice for a race in Wisconsin.
Specifically how the Ward household and their attorneys program to make their case is unclear. Several tracks and sanctioning bodies, which includes NASCAR, rapidly enacted guidelines prohibiting a driver from leaving a disabled vehicle on a still-active track—except, of course, in an emergency, such as a fire—until security crews have arrived and taken manage. Therefore it would be tough to suggest climbing from a vehicle and walking toward a moving race automobile, although not especially prohibited by the track guidelines at the time, is an acceptable concept.
The statement suggests “all the other vehicles” have been capable to miss Ward, Jr., but the video shows that only one particular had to miss him, and Ward wasn’t functioning his way into the path of that distinct auto. And to suggest that Stewart “was accelerating and sliding his car” toward Ward would seem to meet the common of at least negligent homicide, and the grand jury evidently did not uncover adequate proof that Stewart had potentially committed such a crime.
To numerous, it appears that still-grieving parents are unwilling to accept that their son primarily triggered his personal death. Or that there’s an attorney involved properly aware that Stewart has pocketed well over $ 100 million in NASCAR race winnings alone and that he holds a number of other assets.
New York is a “Pure Comparative Fault” state, which means that a plaintiff’s “damages will be lowered by their own liability, but not barred fully.” Which is to say that even if a judge or jury finds Kevin Ward, Jr., 95 percent liable for his own death, they could still locate Stewart 5 % liable.
And if the person against whom these damages are assessed has a lot of funds, 5 % of that can nevertheless be a lot of income. In this sense, it is feasible that Ward, Jr.’s family could get the vindication they seek.
Is Justice for Kevin Ward, Jr. Justice for Tony Stewart?
