Tony Stewart is absolutely broken up over the death of fellow sprint car driver Kevin Ward.
During a race, Stewart and Ward were racing for position when Ward crashed.
Ward, pissed off at Stewart, exited his car, walked onto the track and tried to confront Stewart… who was still speeding around the track in his car!
That’s when the worst happened: Stewart’s car hit Ward, leading to his death.
After a grand jury just looked at the whole incident and all sorts of evidence it was decided that Tony Stewart will NOT be charged with any crimes — but there are still those out there who do not agree.
[ Related: Tony Stewart Ridiculed By Family Of Driver He Hit & Killed! ]
While we bet Tony is glad he doesn’t have to go to court, we know he’s still so torn up about everything, saying:
“I know 100 percent in my heart and in my mind that I did not do anything wrong. This was 100 percent an accident. You are part of something so tragic and so unthinkable, it’s hard to face anybody. It was hard to wrap my arms around this, and it still is. I haven’t been a part of society for more than six weeks. You are scared to be around anybody, you are embarrassed to be around anybody because of what happened.
There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by that I haven’t thought about it. And it will be like that all your life. You are never going to forget about it. You are never going to not see it happen all over again. It’s going to be a part of me forever.”
We feel absolutely awful for Tony. Especially because the Ward family isn’t going to let things go so easily. We obviously feel even worse for the whole Ward family.
The Ward family released a statement that read:
“Our son got out of his car during caution when the race was suspended. All the other vehicles were reducing speed and not accelerating except for Stewart, who intentionally tried to intimidate Kevin by accelerating and sliding his car toward him, causing the tragedy. The focus should be on the actions of Mr. Stewart. This matter is not at rest and we will pursue all remedies in fairness to Kevin.”
That sounds an awful lot like they’re going to take Stewart to civil court. They could totally try and file a wrongful death lawsuit.
We feel like the longer they drag this out, the more hurt everyone will be.
R.I.P. – Kevin Ward Jr.