Kevin Ward

[GTPorsche]

Here's another update on the investigation which is nearing finalization soon.

http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/sto...ing-up-but-no-timetable-for-completion-082514

 

[GTPorsche]

Ontario County Sheriff's Dept. has completed the investigation. The D.A. will make an announcement next week.

http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/sto...mplete-d-a-to-make-statement-next-week-091114

 

[Dotini]

Ontario County Sheriff's Dept. has completed the investigation. The D.A. will make an announcement next week.

http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/sto...mplete-d-a-to-make-statement-next-week-091114

ABC news reported this evening that the case has been sent to a grand jury.

 

[GTPorsche]

Normal process for any investigation.

 

[Northstar]

I would be shocked if they found the evidence enough to go forward on any serious charges as there is certainly plenty of reasonable doubt to go around. That being said I could see a minor charge coming, but nothing that would put him in jail.

 

[Vic Reign93]

Apologies for the minor bump but it's official.

http://jalopnik.com/tmz-report-tony-stewart-wont-face-trial-for-death-of-k-1638689280

 

[MustangRyan]

"Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo also said Ward was under the influence of marijuana at the time of his death, according to toxicology reports."

Source - ESPN report.

 

[GranTurismo916]

He was high? Wow. That's ridiculous.

 

[Vic Reign93]

I would say it's a hollow victory for Tony.

Some people, despite the evidence and verdict will still think he did it on purpose.

More importantly, he's gonna have to live with what happened for the rest of his life.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

"Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo also said Ward was under the influence of marijuana at the time of his death, according to toxicology reports."

Source - ESPN report.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

"Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo also said Ward was under the influence of marijuana at the time of his death, according to toxicology reports."

Source - ESPN report.

Now, they're going to have to release that report because people are going to ask how much marijuana was in his system.

 

[Vic Reign93]

That surprised me too, it's one thing to get out on a hot track and get within arms length of speeding cars, but also with drugs in your system is/was pretty much asking for trouble.

If there was going to be any civil suit afterwards then that revelation just torpedoed any good chance of that happening.

 

[Sanji Himura]

Now, they're going to have to release that report because people are going to ask how much marijuana was in his system.

According to Yahoo, the DA said that it was "enough to impair judgment". Shouldn't whoever was in charge of the race done something called a drug screening before the race? That would have caught it right away.

 

[TheCracker]

According to Yahoo, the DA said that it was "enough to impair judgment". Shouldn't whoever was in charge of the race done something called a drug screening before the race? That would have caught it right away.

Too slow, too expensive.

What Kevin Ward did when he got out of his car was an aggressive move. Marihuana on its own never made anyone aggressive. Him having dope in his system is largely irrelevant to what happened.

 

[Ganon83]

"I was gonna drive my car, then I got high...."
I don't think Afroman ever said anything about getting in the car anyway.

 

[Adamgp]

The Ward's stated they will pursue civil charges, and are still claiming it was intentional.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/grand-jury-done-hearing-case-vs-tony-stewart-172208411--nascar.html

The Ward family indicated in a statement read over the telephone by his sister, Kayla Herring, that they will seek civil damages.

''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 family said. ''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.''

 

[AnthonyD1993]

So its Stewart's fault that their son was high before the race even began and then walked out on a hot track while cars were still at speed, and then they want money for their son who drove a race car while on drugs? I sure hope that people with brains throw out the suit. Hell, I just asked my mom if she'd sue someone if I did what Kevin did (hypothetically, I don't have a race car or any racing certs) and she said she wouldn't sue.

 

[Müle]

After knowing this fact, I must say this.

If I was in the position of Kevin Ward, Jr., and Tony Stewart wrecked me, I'd probably be too busy laughing at it to get out of my car to confront him.

The family is clearly only trying to acquire some of Stewart's riches at this point, so of course they're going to try to exagerate the situation as much as possible. Way to not shake off the stereotype that Americans are sue happy just to get the paycheck.

 

[MrWednesday]

The family is clearly only trying to acquire some of Stewart's riches at this point

This reads like you assume they're only interested in cash, and that's a pretty big (and potentially unfair) assumption. They're hurt, and they may legitimately (correctly or incorrectly) believe that Stewart had some intent in the case. If that's so, then why shouldn't he be held liable? I don't think that is so, but that doesn't mean I jump to the conclusion that Ward's parents are solely out for money.

 

[niky]

I don't think the presence of marijuana would play in any way towards proving or disproving criminal intent on the part of Stewart... so it shouldn't have affected the Grand Jury's judgment in any way.

But it will certainly torpedo the family's chances at winning any civil suit.

I can understand their frustration. They feel they've been done wrong, and a civil suit will at least make Tony bleed... a little bit. But this is one case they can't win.

that's a pretty big (and potentially unfair) assumption.

Agreed. All the money in the world won't bring Kevin back. But if I felt I had a case and criminal charges weren't forthcoming, I'd do the same thing.

A court case is expensive, arduous and grinding. It's no picnic for the defendant, but it's not easy for the plaintiffs, either. And not cheap.

 

[AnthonyD1993]

The Grand Jury probably knew about the toxicology report, but for the most part, that was the only real bombshell evidence. Most people had formulated either guilty or innocent opinions long before that. I initially thought Tony wasn't guilty, but I waited until I heard more evidence before I truly decided that I thought he was innocent.

 

[JMoney]

The Ward family has no case. This is gonna sound really harsh, but they raised an idiot who got high not only before driving, but before racing. And then walked into the path of another car after wrecking. That's pure stupidity. And Tony Stewart was the victim of that stupidity.

 

[NW48]

The Ward family has no case. This is gonna sound really harsh, but they raised an idiot who got high not only before driving, but before racing. And then walked into the path of another car after wrecking. That's pure stupidity. And Tony Stewart was the victim of that stupidity.

Cannot agree more, a harsh reality, but a true reality.

 

[GTPorsche]

The Grand Jury probably knew about the toxicology report, but for the most part, that was the only real bombshell evidence. Most people had formulated either guilty or innocent opinions long before that. I initially thought Tony wasn't guilty, but I waited until I heard more evidence before I truly decided that I thought he was innocent.

Yes, the grand jury would have see any and all evidence.

 

[Chrunch Houston]

Why did Stewart hit the throttle? The camera pans away and when it catches back up to Stewart's car you can see him correcting the loose rear end of the car.

The Ward family believes Stewart was trying to intimidate Kevin. I agree.

I don't, for one minute, believe Tony meant to hurt the kid. It was a complete accident.

I agree with @niky , the kid being stoned will prevent his family from ever prevailing in a lawsuit.

 

[McLaren]

Playing Devil's Advocate, unless they can prove he had been smoking within' a reasonable time frame of the incident, it should be irrelevant to the case just because they found it in his system. Marijuana can stay in your system for a long time, so it depends on how often Ward smoked before coming to the conclusion that he was under the influence or it affected him then & there.

And from the video, I don't believe it did; marijuana is an extremely mellow drug. Extremely rare to see anyone get as mad as Ward did to believe the drug impaired his judgement.

 

[Chrunch Houston]

@McLaren , that was my first thought too, but there are so many reports that say he WAS high at the time, I have accepted that as the truth.

I have never heard of such a test, but I have not heard this 'fact' rebuffed.

I am guessing there is a post mortem test that shows this.

I can't really imagine getting stoned right before a race, but what if friends stopped over earlier in the afternoon?

I do not think marijuana should have any affect on any court proceedings anyway.

But, this is not taking place in Colorado or Washington. If there is civil action no doubt the Stewart defence team will be counting on the ignorance of a north eastern jury and play the 'Refer Madness' card.

I do not think the Ward family will prevail.

 

[Siren]

From my professional expertise experience (Pay no attention to what I just said lol) the effects Marijuana have on you can you do alota dumb **** sometimes. I've gotten both angry and sad but to do something like intentionally put myself in harms way is never the case for me or anyone that smokes. Now I'm no professional expert here but 1 thing I do know is that it heightens all your senses so sometimes you can get very paranoid but it counters that with a very slow reaction time. I think Ward made a very poor decision when he walked out on the track and because one of the effects of smoking marijuana is a slow reaction, his reactions to Tony Stewarts "intimidation" was too slow and it lead to his death.

 

[Adamgp]

I'm not buying the whole "Tony tried to buzz the kid" idea.

All the articles I read said it was determined through the 2 videos and pictures, etc. that Tony held his line and Kevin ran down to Tony's car.

From the link in my post above:

The family might have a difficult task: Tantillo disclosed that Ward was under the influence of marijuana the night he died and said two different videos were enhanced, frames were isolated and viewed at at least three different speeds and finally overlaid with grids and data. Both showed Stewart had done nothing wrong.

''The videos did not demonstrate any aberrational driving by Tony Stewart until the point of impact with Kevin Ward, at which point his vehicle veered to the right up the track as a result of the collision. Prior to that, his course was pretty straight,'' said Tantillo. He added that toxicology evidence from Ward's autopsy ''indicates that at the time of operation he was under the influence of marijuana. The levels determined were enough to impair judgment.''

I also agree that the presence of marijuwana in Kevin's system at the time will make it tough for the Ward's to win a civil case.

 

[Pupik]

Marijuana might not cause someone to get angry, but it can cause an exaggeration* of emotions at times (over-reaction, dull reactions, nonsensical responses, but also heightened feelings for empathy and satisfaction as well) in some people.

But as said before, THC can stay in your system for 4-6 weeks. Still, there goes most any chance to blame Tony or the track owners or pretty much anybody else. Best to just drop the case at this point...

* Non-technical term borne out of personal experience and/or evaluation of others.