Kevin Ward Jr. died from injuries sustained after being hit by Tony Stewart during the Empire Super Sprints race at Motorsports Park on Saturday night in New York.
Ward and Stewart, a three-time Sprint Cup champion, got into a collision that knocked the 20-year-old racer out of the race. Ward was so upset he got out of his car and began pointing and gesturing wildly at Stewart.
Stewart ended up hitting Ward — one witness believes it was accidental — and the injuries were enough to kill the young man.
[Also see– Friend and witness Tyler Graves does not think Stewart did it on purpose]
Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero said in a press conference that Ward died at 11:15 p.m. The incident took place at 10:30 p.m.
Stewart is being investigated for a crime and has been cooperative. He is not currently being charged.
Here are some quotes from Povero via WROC-TV reporter Prescott Rossi:
“This is an ongoing investigation of an on-track crash. Mr. Stewart has been fully cooperative… He is very upset and confirmed his contiunuing cooperation. People that witnessed it were horrified. They were extremely shocked.. The people at Canandaigua Motorsports have cooperated fully.”
Video from the incident is here but be warned that it is disturbing.
