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Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,700 posts, read 41,742,544 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by karlsch
Rather than automatically charge somebody with manslaughter, I think the proper procedure is to first have an investigation.
When somebody in black walking on a dimly lit live race track is clipped, especially when that person seemed to be moving toward the car that did the clipping, the investigators might find that no charges are warranted.
I really do not see how this is NOT going to end up in a trial of some sort. There is just too much question here for this NOT to go to trial IMO. Again, I don't think he intentionally ran him over but if I were Ward's family I'd be more apt to get closure if a jury of 12 concluded that Stewart did not commit a crime in this matter rather than one government official concluded it.
It was dumb for the guy to run out into the middle of the track but that doesn't justify running him over. TS wouldn't have deliberately killed him but it seems to me that he wanted to "play chicken" with him by speeding up and getting close to him. It's easy t forget that human bodies always lose badly vs thousands of pound machines that are moving fast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by everwinter
I think Stewart was trying to intimidate or mess with Ward, because being Stewart, he was likely ticked off over something. From the video, Stewart sped up as he approached Ward (who was on foot) and went up the track near him whereas the other cars stayed closer to the bottom & didn't speed up.
I just hope this gets investigated more & it sounds like it is or will be. I feel bad for Wards family. We've all made dumb mistakes when we were 20.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Myghost
I don't think anyone (in their right mind) thinks Tony tried to hit a guy with his car, but I do think it's reasonable to think he tried to buzz the guy, or get close, or play chicken or whatever, and it went wrong.
If the other driver stayed off the track, then no incident.
If TS drove wide and clear of him, then no incident.
I think all these comments are spot on.
I'm sure he didn't try to hit him or wanted to cause damage in any way but I'm sure he was angry and could've moved down the track more despite the fact that the other driver was out of his car and walking towards the center of the track.
I'm absolutely sure TS knew where he was, he's got a spotter doesn't he? Let's get that audio. I'm sure it'll be made available for the coming trial.
it also doesn't look good that he was going to race today and he's a hot head. Shows no contrition. I'm sure his handlers had to tell him "don't race today if only because of public relations and a future litigation process."
I think that driver of the 13 car bears at least SOME responsibility, for his actions. Getting out of the car, is OK, but walking towards the centre of the track, while pointing at another driver, and then being so far onto the racing surface that he is hit by another car, is pretty dangerous behaviour, in my opinion.
As I said in my first post on this thread, this sad incident MUST be fully investigated, and a coroner's inquest must follow. I don't know about the law in NY State, but here in Canada, a Coroner's inquest is to
find out the facts, and recommend ways to PREVENT such a death, in the future. Not to assign blame.
A criminal investigation should also be conducted, by the appropriate Police agency, in NY State.
Stewart did accelerate and move up the track towards Ward Jr., and that makes this more than just a tragic accident. In another sign of being completely arrogant/tone deaf, Greg Zippadelli initially said that it would be "business as usual" and that Tony would race today, before realizing that was a heartless and boneheaded thing to do after he just killed someone the night before.
I don't think he tried to hit him, but the tape shows he tried to get close to the driver and it went very wrong. NASCAR has enough pull to make this incident disappear, and smart money says that it will go away without any criminal charges. If Ward Jr.'s family pushes for a prosecution, they will be made a substantial financial offer by SHR.
I agree he might have done that and it ended up tragically. Stewart apparently has a history of anger issues.
Yep, and he has a history of trying to teach other drivers a lesson or getting back at them. He intentionally spins other drivers out and puts them in the wall. He is a pretty dirty driver.
He didn't do that on purpose. Look at the #1 on the bottom just after the hit, he was crawling at snails pace, not even keeping up with caution pace.'Tony had to be in the middle groove to avoid that. That dirty driver list is bunk too. Now if Kyle would've done that, I'd say yeah, he lost his temper. The 13 was an idiot and greatly contributed to his own death.
Yep, and he has a history of trying to teach other drivers a lesson or getting back at them. He intentionally spins other drivers out and puts them in the wall. He is a pretty dirty driver.
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."
I definitely believe he did it in retaliation. I don't think he intended to kill the guy, of course, but he knows how to handle a race car and he knew what to do to make his car slide toward the guy. He also knows how to NOT make that happen. He chose to slide toward him. He gets in confrontations with other drivers quite often and this is just one more example, but this time he took it too far. I think he's arrogant.
Article about Tony Stewart's temper and conflicts with other drivers:
I definitely believe he did it in retaliation. I don't think he intended to kill the guy, of course, but he knows how to handle a race car and he knew what to do to make his car slide toward the guy. He also knows how to NOT make that happen. He chose to slide toward him. He gets in confrontations with other drivers quite often and this is just one more example, but this time he took it too far. I think he's arrogant.
Article about Tony Stewart's temper and conflicts with other drivers:
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