In his first interview with the media since his dirt-track sprint car struck and killed 20-year-old fellow racer Kevin Ward, Jr. on August 9, NASCAR driver Tony Stewart told the Associated Press that he knows “100 percent in my heart and in my mind that I did not do anything wrong. This was 100 percent an accident.”
The interview took place at Stewart’s home in North Carolina the day after it was announced that a grand jury in Ontario County, New York, where the accident occurred, had declined to indict him for Ward’s death.
The incident sent Stewart into a lonely spiral, during which he missed three NASCAR Sprint Cup races, spending the time holed up in his other home in his native Indiana. “You are part of something so tragic and so unthinkable, it’s hard to face anybody,” he told the AP. “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.”
Stewart, 43, told the AP he could not discuss the incident itself on the advice of legal counsel. Shortly after the grand jury’s verdict was announced, Ward’s family released a statement saying that the matter “is not at rest.” A civil lawsuit is now expected despite the investigation revealing that Ward, Jr. was under the influence of marijuana when he climbed from his disabled car and attempted to confront Stewart—who was in his car and traveling at approximately 40 mph—on the track.
- Tony Stewart Not Charged, DA Says Marijuana in Ward’s System Enough to “Impair Judgment”
- Yes, Tony Stewart Hit and Killed a Fellow Driver, But You Need to Know the Whole Story
- Is Justice for Kevin Ward, Jr. Justice for Tony Stewart? [Analysis]
Stewart, who said he has received counseling, does not sound like a man who has found his footing since. “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.”
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/YjM2w5
via Agya
