Tony Stewart, the NASCAR driver who struck his fellow driver Kevin Ward Jr. on the track while they were competing, now has one witness to corroborate his story that it was, in fact, an “accident”.
On Sunday, The Inquisitr reported on this tragic story:
“NASCAR driver Tony Stewart’s famous temper has struck again, this time on a dirt track in New York, just north of Watkins Glen, where Stewart was to race this weekend. Stewart and fellow driver, Kevin Ward, got into an altercation during a sprint car race. According to reports, Ward approached Stewart to confront him and Stewart clipped Ward with his car, sending Ward, who was still on foot, flying through the air and then laying motionless when he landed. Ward was taken to a local hospital and was listed in serious condition.”
It was later reported that Mr. Ward was dead on arrival at the hospital. As mentioned by The Inquisitr yesterday, the local sheriff in Ontario County stated, “There are no criminal charges pending at this time” against Tony Stewart.
Tyler Graves, a friend of Kevin Ward Jr., stated he knew “(Tony) could see him and ” hit the throttle”.
Mr. Graves recounted his view of the crash, according to Sporting News:
“I know Tony could see him. I know how you can see out of these cars. When Tony got close to him, he hit the throttle. When you hit a throttle on a sprint car, the car sets sideways. It set sideways, the right rear tire hit Kevin, Kevin was sucked underneath and was stuck under it for a second or two and then it threw him about 50 yards.”
TWC News reported that Cory Sparks, another driver racing that day was reportedly a few cars behind Mr. Stewart, and he had a different opinion of the crash:
“From what I saw, Tony did everything in his power to turn down away from Kevin to avoid him.”
Mr. Graves also explained that the “revving up” that has been spoken about in a video which surfaced gives a glimpse into the final moments. He said the accident was not what you would think.
“People say that they heard the engine rev up and he gassed it. In a sprint car, the only way to steer is you steer with the rear wheels as much as you do the steering wheel. In my opinion, what he did was he gassed it to turn down away from him.”
Reportedly, the police chief and investigators have two videos of the incident that they have reviewed at this time. They show two different angles of Kevin Ward Jr. walking on the track after his wreck on lap 14 and another of him being struck by Tony Stewart’s car. At this time, no further information relating to charges against Mr. Stewart is available.
The staff of The Inquisitr would like to express their sincere condolences to the family and friends of Kevin Ward Jr..
[ Photo Via Screenshot Of The Video Of The Incident ]