Race Car Driver Killed in Accident With Tony Stewart

NASCAR driver allegedly hit Kevin Ward in sprint car race
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 10, 2014 6:08 AM CDT
Race Car Driver Killed in Accident With Tony Stewart
Ambulances at Canandaigua Motorsports Park on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014 in Canandaigua, N.Y. Authorities are investigating a serious crash that killed one person.   (AP Photo/Logan Messerly)

NASCAR champ Tony Stewart hit and killed a fellow race car driver last night on a dirt track in Western New York. As the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reports, after driver Kevin Ward Jr. was spun out by Stewart at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, he got out of his car to confront Stewart; Stewart was apparently unable to avoid Ward and hit him, sending the 20-year-old flying down the track. "Stewart has fully cooperated with investigation," said the local sheriff, who said that Stewart appeared "very upset" and that criminal charges are not pending. "He acknowledges the collision with the driver." Ward was pronounced dead upon arrival at the local hospital.

"Tony came around ... the back end slid out, and he definitely caught him," said one witness. "The body made contact with the car and went sliding across the track. It was the worst thing I've ever seen." Stewart, who the AP reports will compete today in a Sprint Cup race in nearby Watkins Glen, said via a spokesman that "a fellow competitor lost his life" in a "tragic accident," and that "our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends." Sky News has video of the accident here. (More Tony Stewart stories.)

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