Racing Champ Tony Steward Kills Driver Outside Car On Track

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**WarOne**

Its bad enough a driver lost his life, but everything was completely and utterly preventable, especially the part where the deceased driver started running towards Tony's car while it was still whipping around the track at 50-60 mph.

This is just a sad way to lose a life.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/10/justice/tony-stewart-hits-driver/

(CNN) -- NASCAR driver Tony Stewart hit and killed another driver who was walking on a track during a dirt-track race in upstate New York, authorities said early Sunday.

Kevin Ward Jr. died from injuries suffered in the incident, which occurred Saturday night at the Empire Super Sprints series event at the Canandaigua Motorsports Park.

Ward's sprint car hit the outside wall during lap 14 of a 25-lap race, Ontario County Sheriff Philip C. Povero said.

A video of the incident shows Ward out of his crashed car, walking on the track toward the race cars, which had slowed for a yellow flag. Ward points a finger and appears to be yelling. One car swerves to avoid

Stewart's car passes close to Ward, and it appears that its right rear tire hits him.

An ambulance took Ward to a hospital, but he died before it arrived, Povero told reporters.

"Stewart has fully cooperated" with an investigation, Povero said. "He acknowledges the collision with the driver."

Stewart's spokesman said they are trying to sort out the details.

"A tragic accident took place last night during a sprint car race in which Tony Stewart was participating," Mike Arning said. "Tony was unhurt, but a fellow competitor lost his life. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends."

A competitor, which runs the car that swerved around Ward, expressed sympathy.

"Our deepest condolences go to the entire Ward Family. We are one huge ESS family, you will be truly missed bud! #RIP13," Hebing Racing tweeted.

Stewart is a three-time champion in NASCAR's top division and also won a sprint car championship in 1995.

Canandaigua Motorsports Park is about a two-hour drive from Watkins Glen International race track, where Stewart is scheduled to race in a NASCAR event Sunday.

An investigation is under way, police said.

**curran12**

Having seen the tape of it, it is a pretty horrible way to go, but I cannot see it as anything but an accident on Tony's part. The guy walked out into the paths of multiple cars before he was hit.

**Ma55ter_fett**

Must've got his bell rung pretty bad if he was walking towards the other cars.

**dogma**

Never get out of the car.

**AegisGrimm**

Unless your car is on FIRE, just sit there until help arrives. Please do not walk into oncoming traffic.

**Commissar-Danno**

And the Darwin award goes to....

**PrehistoricUFO**

I watched the video, and I have to say, Ward asked for it. He jumps out of the car, and runs INTO the raceway, one blue car dodges him successfully, and then he gets BUCKED by Stewart. It's going to be very, very hard to prove he did this on purpose with all the variables that occur on a racing track, the car, and with the guy putting himself in harm's way. His back end flicks - some cite it as him giving it gas to maximize damage, others are saying it was him trying to dodge him. Which is more likely?

He tried to be a hard ass super saiyan and failed. Darwinism at work. Next time don't run into traffic.

**SilverMK2**

AegisGrimm wrote:
Unless your car is on FIRE, just sit there until help arrives. Please do not walk into oncoming traffic.

When seconds count, the fire brigade is just minutes away

Quite possibly the driver had some confusion brought on by the crash and didn't really know what was going on.

**TheMeanDM**

Dumbarse.

You DON'T get out of the car unless you (or it) is on fire.

You DON'T run down INTO oncoming cars who are still whipping around the track.

Moral of this story....don't be a dumbarse.

Save the butt kicking for when you're back in the pits.

**Ahtman**

PrehistoricUFO wrote:
I watched the video, and I have to say, Ward asked for it.

Well yeah, did you see the way he was dressed?

**Shadow Captain Edithae**

Raving lunatic walks into oncoming traffic on a race track.

Case closed.

**dogma**

Ahtman wrote:

Well yeah, did you see the way he was dressed?

He was a bit hard on the Beaver.

**Medium of Death**

Wow, there's "blaming the victim" and then there's being a witch.

The guy has just died you [MOD EDIT: Rule #1 + Language. - Alpharius]

**Shadow Captain Edithae**

Medium of Death wrote:
Wow, there's "blaming the victim" and then there's being a witch.

The guy has just died

As a result of his own stupidity.

An angry racer gets out of his car in the middle of a race track and tries to remonstrate with another driver...with predictable results.

This is "blaming the victim" in the same way as blaming a person who puts a gun to their head and pulls the trigger.

language edit from above

**TheMeanDM**

I blame him...Damn right I blame him. If he hadn't gotten out of his car, this wouldn't have happened.

He, through his own actions, setup the conditions of his own death.

Had he not done what he did he would still be alive.

**Ahtman**

I've seen some race fans blaming Tony for it. I don't follow racing so I don't know but they are saying he has a mean streak and a temper, and that while he may not have meant to kill the guy he certainly meant to hit him out of spite when he could have avoided him. Again, I have no idea, just sharing what I have seen others say in other places.

I do think it is a bit weird to jump on either at this point as we don't know everything that happened, other than what is obvious, but that doesn't always tell the whole story.

**Shadow Captain Edithae**

Ahtman wrote:
I've seen some race fans blaming Tony for it. I don't follow racing so I don't know but they are saying he has a mean streak and a temper, and that while he may not have meant to kill the guy he certainly meant to hit him out of spite when he could have avoided him. Again, I have no idea, just sharing what I have seen others say in other places.

I do think it is a bit weird to jump on either at this point as we don't know everything that happened, other than what is obvious, but that doesn't always tell the whole story.

That would be nigh on impossible to prove without video evidence etc to prove that he deliberately steered to hit the victim.

Sadly, even if innocent, this will probably stain the guy's reputation for life and mar his career.

**TheMeanDM**

From the video I've seen, it looked like he clipped him with the back right wheel. Now, if he'd intentionally been going after him, I would think that he'd have hit with the front right wheel....just my thought.

**Ahtman**

Shadow Captain Edithae wrote:
Sadly, even if innocent, this will probably stain the guy's reputation for life and mar his career.

I doubt it was on purpose either, but one of the problems of cultivating a poor attitude is that when something bad happens you weren't trying to do it will be hard to believe you. It is also a celebrity (of sorts) so there will also be people looking for their shot of schadenfreude.

**TheMeanDM**

From the video it also looked like the rear tire of Tony's car bumped the front tire of the victim *unintentionally*, because they had just exited a turn and it seemed (to me) that he wasn't 100% in control of that little slide out of the turn.

Video/story here:

http://deadspin.com/reports-tony-stewart-ran-over-opposing-driver-during-1618893708/+bubbaprog

**Shadow Captain Edithae**

Ahtman wrote:
I do think it is a bit weird to jump on either at this point as we don't know everything that happened, other than what is obvious, but that doesn't always tell the whole story.

What IS obvious, is that the apparently angry victim climbed out of his car and walked in front of another driver still driving at very high speeds, attempting to remonstrate with him.

This is like wandering across a motorway and attempting to remonstrate with oncoming traffic.

A racetrack during an ongoing race is the wrong time, wrong place to pull this gak.

**Chowderhead**

I'm trying not to blame the victim here, but for the first time in Dakka history, I think that we can all agree that the victim has the most blame in this situation.

**Dreadclaw69**

Ahtman wrote:
I've seen some race fans blaming Tony for it. I don't follow racing so I don't know but they are saying he has a mean streak and a temper, and that while he may not have meant to kill the guy he certainly meant to hit him out of spite when he could have avoided him. Again, I have no idea, just sharing what I have seen others say in other places.

I do think it is a bit weird to jump on either at this point as we don't know everything that happened, other than what is obvious, but that doesn't always tell the whole story.

The comments under the CNN article show plenty of that.

From what little involvement I've had with motor sports in the event of a crash you stay with the vehicle unless you are in imminent danger (such as a fire). That is one of the basics. The fact that the deceased did not follow basic protocol makes me think that he was possibly disorientated after the crash. Walking towards oncoming cars on a race track, during the evening, wearing dark coveralls does not seem like the most prudent idea.

**curran12**

Stewart's celebrity is going to work hard against him in this situation. While it is a pretty egregious disregard for all kinds of safety protocol on the part of the victim, the court of public opinion is a hard thing to overcome.

**Ahtman**

In TheMeanDM's link another driver seems to be accusing Tony Stewart of hitting him on purpose.

Tyler Graves, a sprint-car racer and friend of Ward's, told Sporting News in a phone interview that he was sitting in the Turn 1 grandstands and saw everything that happened.

"Tony pinched him into the frontstretch wall, a racing thing," Graves said. "The right rear tire went down, he spun on the exit of (Turn) 2. They threw the caution and everything was toned down. Kevin got out of his car. … He was throwing his arms up all over the place at Tony for most of the corner.

"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."

Of course eye witness testimony is unreliable, but it won't help with those that already decided one way or the other. Seems a pretty bad situation all around.

**Relapse**

SilverMK2 wrote:
AegisGrimm wrote:
Unless your car is on FIRE, just sit there until help arrives. Please do not walk into oncoming traffic.

When seconds count, the fire brigade is just minutes away

Quite possibly the driver had some confusion brought on by the crash and didn't really know what was going on.

I think this is a very good possibilty. I got my bell rang pretty good once in a wreck when someone ran into me as I sat at a red light. It was very disorienting for a few seconds.

**The Grumpy Eldar**

Wait, why did the article say "killed ANOTHER driver"? It happened to the Tony guy before? Sheesh, I would have quit already.

**Kanluwen**

The Grumpy Eldar wrote:
Wait, why did the article say "killed ANOTHER driver"? It happened to the Tony guy before? Sheesh, I would have quit already.

He has not killed another driver before, it is just the standard way you would phrase it.

**OIIIIIIO**

I seriously dislike Tony Stewart. I do not like how he carries himself in the public eye, and I certainly do NOT care for the way he races. More of a Jeff Gordon fan myself. That being said, I can not hold anything against him for the events that transpired on the track.

Did he bump the other driver ... certainly, was it intentional ... I honestly do not know. Did the other driver handle it properly .... not a chance.

He was not confused when he got out of that car, he was pissed. He was well aware of what happened to him and who he felt was responsible. He actively walked out onto a track that had moving cars on it, his anger VERY evident. Perhaps he thought that Stewart would stop and they would duke it out right there, I do not know. What I do know is that what he took upon himself to do got him perished. I feel bad for him but this was not an accident that Tony Stewart should be held accountable for.

Did I mention that I seriously dislike Stewart? I mean a lot. I actually quit watching NASCAR because I despise the way he acts.

This is not his fault and people should realize that.

**d-usa**

"IF" Steward hit him intentionally then the actions of the dead driver don't matter at all.

If it was an accident then the fact that the dead driver walked on the track is pretty significant. But if Stewards did hit the gas and swiped him on purpose then it's 100% on Steward.

So we will have to wait to see what the investigation finds.

I do find it in pretty bad form that he (and/or his team) was initially planning on him racing today.